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PAPAL  ROME  AS  IT  IS, 


15  v 


A    ROMAN; 


WITH 


AN     INTRODUCTION 

BY    THE 

Rev.  W.  C.  MOWNLEE,  D.  D. 

Of  tho  Protestant  Reformed  Dutch  Church  of  New  York, 
BY 

Rev.  L.  GIUSTINIANI,  D.  D. 

Formerly  a  Roman  Priest,  now   Minister  of  tho   Evan- 
gelical Lutheran  Church. 


BALTIMORE: 

PRINTED    AT    PUBLICATION    ROOMS 
NO.   7    S.    LIBERTY   STREET. 

1H13. 


Entered  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year 
1843,  by  L.  Giustiniani,  D.  D.,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  of 
the  District  Court  of  Maryland. 


CONTENTS. 

Page. 
Recommendations, 

I.  Introduction  of  the  Rev.  W.  C.  Brownlec,  D.  D., 
Pastor  of  the  Prot.  Ref.  Dutch  Church,  of  N.  York. 

II.  Credentials — Certificates  from  Rome,         .         .      1 

III.  The  Conversion  of  a  Roman  Catholic  is  a  great 
Miracle, 9 

IV.  Easter, 1G 

V.  Narrative  of  the  Author's  First  Riblical  im- 
pression, ........     23 

VI.  The  Mass, 30 

VII.  Transubstantiation, 44 

VIII.  Absurdities  and  Delusions  of  the  Mass,  52 

IX.  Heathen  Rome  and  Papal  Rome.  The  Pan- 
theon ;  The  Holy  Virgin  Lady  of  Parturition 
against  the  Holy  Virgin  Lady  of  the  Stone;  Car- 
dinal Giustiniani  at  Rimini;  The  Holy  Stairs; 
The  Flying  stone;  Saint  Peter  in  Vinculis;  Colos- 
seum Romanum  ;  Confessional ;  Saint  Antony  in 
Rome, 59 

X.  The  Opening  of  the  Eyes  of  the  Virgin  Mary,       £6 

XI.  Beatification  of  a  Franciscan  Friar,        .         .       91 

XII.  The  Patriarch  of  Egypt  and  the  Homed 
Priest, 97 

XIII.  Infallibility  of  the  Pope,  and  Antiquity  of 

the  Church  of  Rome, 104 

XIV.  Catholicity  of  the  Church  of  Rome,      .       .     115 

XV.  Apostolical  Succession  of  Roman  Pontiffs,       1J0 

XVI.  Apostolical  Doctrines  and  not  tho  Chair 

arc  required  as  a  mark  of  a  true  Church,  .  125 


282010 


IV  CONTENTS. 

XVII.  Adoration  of  Saints,         ....  128 

XVIII.  Three  Months  in  the  Convent  of  the  Cor- 
delier,           145 

XIX.  Persecution, 157 

XX.  Switzerland, 168 

XXI.  The  Foundation  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  172 

XXII.  Usurpation  of  the  Church  of  Rome,         .  177 

XXIII.  Avarice  the  corner  stone  of  the  Church  of 
Rome 183 

XXIV.  Moral  Corruptions  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  185 

XXV.  The  Holy  Councils  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  194 

XXVI.  Jesuitism, 218 

XXVII.  Miracles,  .         .         .         .         .         .250 


RECOMMENDATIONS. 


I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  examining  the  work  written 
by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Giustimani,  entitled  "  PAPAL  ROME 
AS  IT  IS,  BY  A  ROMAN." 

Dr.  G.  treats  of  twenty-seven  prominent  subjects  in  the 
Roman  Catholic  system, — preceded  by  an  account  of  his 
own  conversion  from  the  religion  of  Rome,  in  which  he 
was  born  and  educated,  full  of  deep  interest.  On  each  of 
these  leading  articles  of  Romanism,  he  writes  as  one  who 
knows  his  subject  thoroughly,  and  feels  most  deeply.  We 
perceive,  at  every  step  of  his  discussion,  that  we  are  listen- 
ing to  a  man,  who  had  been  a  Roman  Catholic  "  dyed  in 
the  wool,"  and  who  has,  of  course,  had  opportunities  which 
no  Protestant,  perhaps,  ever  had  of  knowing  the  secrets  be- 
hind the  curtain ;  and  who  has  had  feelings  deep  and  in- 
tense, such  as  we  never  knew  who  never  wore  the  mental 
chains  of  Popery  !  He  fails  not  to  manifest  the  best  spirit, 
and  kindest  sentiments,  even  while  he  is  uttering  the  se- 
verest truths.  He  is  anxious  to  reach  the  heart,  as  well 
as  to  gain  the  ear  of  the  Roman  Catholics,  his  former  fel- 
low disciples  ;  over  whom  his  heart  yearns  (as  did  that  of 
St.  Paul,)  to  win  them  away  from  "  The  Man  of  Sin"  to 
"  The  most  Holy  One," — away  from  "  The  cross  of  Anil- 
Christ ,"  to  the  cross  of  Christ  Jesus  his  Lord. 

His  style  is  not  that  of  a  polished  English  scholar.  It 
is  that  of  a  learned  Italian  Doctor,  who  is,  indeed,  master 
of  his  own  beautiful  and  flowing  Italian,  but  who  is  writing 
in  a  language  foreign  to  him.  And  this,  to  my  mind,  car- 
ries with  it  an  external  evidence  of  the  authenticity  of  the 
work.     I  therefore,  beg  leave  to  commend  it  to  the  public, 


VI  RECOMMENDATIONS. 

as  a  work  exceedingly  valuable,  coming  from  such  a  man  ; 
and  calculated,  both  from  its  mild  spirit  and  rich  materi- 
als, to  do  much  good  in  opening  the  eyes  of  the  Roman 
Catholics,  and  instructing  Protestants  under  divine  grace. 
Here  is  a  witness  from  Rome,  a  former  Priest,  brought  up 
under  the  eyes  of  the  Pope  and  Cardinals,  fully  confirm- 
ing all  that  we  have  been  asserting  of  Rome,  for  years 
past. 

W.  C.  BROWNLEE, 

Of  the  Protestant  Reformed  Dutch  Church  of  JVeio  York. 
New  York,  March  22d,  1843. 

Baltimore,  March  30th,  1843. 
I  have  carefully  read  Dr.  Giustiniani's  manuscript  and 
most  cheerfully  recommend  the  book  to  all  persons  desir- 
ous of  ascertaining  the  character  of  "  Popery  as  it  is." 
The  Dr.  writes  in  a  spirit  of  kindness  and  he  aims  at 
nothing  else  than  an  exposition  of  the  errors  which  so  long 
shrouded  his  own  mind,  but  from  which,  by  the  grace  of 
God,  he  has  been  delivered.  His  hope  is  to  enlighten  the 
minds  of  his  Romish  brethren  in  this  country,  in  regard  to 
the  enormous  corruptions  of  the  system  as  they  are  mani- 
fested in  a  country  where  the  purifying  influence  of  Pro- 
testantism is  not  felt. 

JOHN  G.  MORRIS. 

I  have  read  with  great  interest  the  larger  part  of  a  man- 
uscript submitted  to  me  by  Dr.  Giustiniani,  in  which  he 
narrates  the  gracious  dealings  of  a  merciful  God  with  him 
— whereby  he,  being  a  native  of  Rome,  and  a  Papal  Priest, 
was  brought,  even  in  the  city  of  Rome,  to  a  saving  know- 
ledge of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  .The  manuscript  con- 
tains, moreover,  short  and  forcible  discussions  of  a  number 
of  the  errors  and  corruptions  of  Popery,  and  descriptions 
of  many  places,  and  practices  in  Rome,  all  of  which  have  a 
vividness  and  force,  which  nothing  but  personal  contact 


RECOMMENDATIONS.  VII 

<cenld  impart.  My  opinion  is  that  this  work  cannot  fail  to 
interest  and  instruct  the  reader — and  I  take  much  pleas- 
ure in  recommending  it  to  such  as  have  any  confidence  in 
our  judgment  in  such  matters.  I  also  add,  with  much  sen- 
sibility, that  having  known  the  excellent  author  for  some 
years,  1  rank  him  among  our  esteemed  friends,  and  have 
the  utmost  confidence  in  him  as  an  enlightened  gentleman 
and  warm  heartod  Cliristiau. 

ROBERT  J.  BRECKINRIDGE, 

Pastor  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  Baltimore. 
March  21th,  1S43. 

I  entirely  concur  in  the  views  expressed  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
R.  J.  Breckenridge,  and  will  only  add,  that  if  Dr.  G.'s 
work  receives  the  circulation  and  attentive  perusal  which 
it  deserves,  it  cannot  fail  to  hecome  the  instrument  of  great 
.■good  in  the  cause  of  pure  and  scriptural  religion. 

B.  KURTZ. 

Baltimore,  March  2Sth,  1843. 

Baltimore,  March  2Sth,  1S43. 
"  Papal  Rome  as  it  is,"  briefly  but  faithfully,  presents 
Romanism  to  view  as  it  exists  and  exerts  its  influence,  in 
twenty-seven  distinct  and  prominent  points  of  light.  It  is 
irom  the  pen  of  a  native  Roman,  trained  from  infancy  in 
that  fallen  church — for  several  years  a  Priest  officiating  in 
Rome  itself,  an  eye  and  ear  witness  of  the  abominations 
he  describes.  It  is  the  testimony  of  a  most  competent  wit- 
ness. His  abandonment  cf  Rome  must  have  been  the  re- 
sult of  deliberate  and  enlightened  conviction.  He  took 
every  step  surrounded  with  most  imminent  danger,  and  at 
the  sacrifice  of  his  worldly  prospects  of  honor,  wealth  and 
power.  His  eye  must  have  been  single — his  motive  pure 
— his  aim  the  glory  of  God.  His  position  gave  him  a 
commanding  view  of  the  whole  subject,  and  the  singular 
•artlessnes-i  and  simplicity  of  his  statements  present  inter- 


Vlll  RECOMMENDATIONS. 

nal  evidence  of  the  faithfulness  of  the  narrative.  Having 
attentively  read  the  entire  work  in  manuscript,  I  most 
unhesitatingly  bespeak  for  it  a  faithful  and  candid  perusal 
by  both  Protestants  and  Romanists.  If  the  facts  detailed 
be  correct,  Romanism  should  be  at  once  abandoned  as  an 
incurable  system  of  error,  idolatry  and  moral  pollution. 
I?  false,  every  dictate  of  decency,  to  speak  of  no  loftier  mo- 
tive, demands  that  its  false  statements  be  exposed  and 
overthrown.  My  personal  acquaintance  with  Dr.  Gius- 
tiniani,  commenced  some  three  and  a  half  years  since. 
From  the  first,  till  now,  I  have  found  him  the  zealous  de- 
voted christian  gentleman  and  faithful  minister  of  the 
gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  whom  "  I  love  in  the 
truth,"  and  am  happy  to  have  the  honor  of  numbering 
among  my  highly  valued  christian  friends.  Let  this  lit- 
tle volume  be  read  with  prayerful  attention  and  with  a 
heart  ready  to  take  on  the  beautiful  impress  of  truth. 

JOHN  S.  MITCHELL, 

Agent  of  the  American  and  Maryland  Bible  Societies, 


INTRODUCTION. 

My  estimable  and  learned  friend,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Giustiniani,  the  author  of  the  following  pages,  is 
a  native  of  Italy,  born  and  educated  in  the  city  of 
Rome.  Of  course,  he  drank  at  the  fountain  head 
of  Romanism,  and  imbided  deeply  its  genuine 
spirit  from  his  infancy.  He  was  one  of  Rome's 
cherished  sons.  He  had  advantages  unspeakably 
superior  to  those  of  travelers  and  strangers,  who 
see  only  the  exterior  of  Rome's  religion ;  and  can 
detail  of  course  nothing  more  than  they  have  seen 
and  heard.  He  is  a  native  of  Rome  and  was  ad- 
mitted behind  the  curtains,  and  into  all  her  secre- 
cies, and  mingled  with  the  hierophants,  in  all 
"  the  chambers  of  her  imagery;"  and  was  fully 
initiated  into  all  the  orders  and  mysteries  of 
Popery  as  it  is  in  Rome.  Hence,  with  the  pen- 
cil of  a  master  spirit  does  he  delineate  Rome's 
religion  and  Rome's  morals,  with  these  advantages 
which  few  others  possess. 

Bishop  England  and  other  Roman  prelates, 
have  delighted  to  call  Rome  "  the  metropolis  of 
the  christian  world."  Now,  as  is  the  fountain 
head,  so  must  each  stream  be  that  issues  from  it. 


Xll  INTRODUCTION. 

passion  and  love  to  his  benighted  fellow  men. 
Unwilling  to  exaggerate  and  too  honest  to  conceal 
the  truth,  he  presents  to  us  the  picture  of  Rome 
and  Romanism  "  as  it  is"  at  this  day.  His  frank 
and  explicit  testimony  with  that  of  others,  helps 
us  to  decide  with  less  and  less  difficulty,  whether 
Rome  be  "  the  metropolis  of  the  christian  world," 
or  the  very  fountain  head  of  the  great  Apostacy 
predicted  by  Daniel,  Paul  and  John. 

We  beg,  therefore,  a  respectful  hearing  to  him, 
by  all  Protestants.  They  will  find  that  he  con- 
firms all  that  we,  who  have  been  drawn  into  the 
field  against  the  papacy,  have  been  uttering  on  the 
public  ear  these  many  years  past.  And  every 
candid  Roman  Catholic  will,  we  trust,  allow  him 
also  a  fair  hearing.  He  comes  not  as  your  enemy. 
Judge  ye  for  yourselves.  He  utters  no  harsh  re- 
flections on  you.  His  heart  loves  you.  He 
knows  how  to  pity  and  sympathize.  For  he  has 
worn  these  same  chains  which  are  now  on  your 
limbs.  And  by  the  grace  of  God,  he  has  broken 
off  and  cast  from  him  the  cruel  yoke  which  am- 
bitious men  have  cruelly  placed  on  your  necks. 
He  comes  to  tell  you  how  happy, — how  truly 
happy  he  now  is,  since  he  cast  away  a  novel  and 
human  religion,  and  received  the  pure  christian 


INTRODUCTION.  xiii 

faith  ;  Since  lie  exchanged  the  cross  of  Rome  for 
the  holy  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  since 
he  renounced  the  Romish  slavery  of  the  mind,  and 
became  "the  freeman  of  the  Lord."  And  his 
bowels  of  compassion  yearn  with  paternal  affec- 
tion over  you,  whom  he  longs  to  woo  over  to  the 
same  divine  faith,  and  the  same  christian  felicity 
which  he  enjoys. 

The  following  I  give  in  his  own  words :  "  I 
know  the  feelings  of  Roman  Catholics,  and  assure 
my  Protestant  brethren,  that  harsh  words  and  re- 
proaches will  not  be  the  means  of  converting  one 
papist.  Some  writers  whose  intentions  are  pure, 
whose  desire  is  to  propagate  the  gospel,  but  who 
are  unacquainted  with  the  interior  scheme  of  po- 
pery, can  but  limit  their  zeal  to  a  dry  theological 
discussion.  They  recur  to  the  councils,  and 
quote  the  canons ;  of  which  the  body  of  the  Ro- 
man Catholics  are  totally  ignorant.  Hence  it  is 
no  wonder  that  they  deny  the  authenticity  of  the 
documents  adduced  ;  and  that  they  resist  the  truth 
and  oppose  it  with  all  the  might  of  their  unregener- 
ate  hearts. 

"  I  have  before  me," — continues  Dr.  G. — "  some 
pamphlets  written  by  some  new  converts,"  whose 
eyes  the  Lord  had  opened,  and  enable  them  to 


XIV  INTRODUCTION. 

see  the  errors  of  popery  ;  but  who  seem  to  betray 
a  spirit  of  bitterness  against  their  old  friends,  as  if 
they  thought  that  the  more  violent  they  are  against 
the  church  of  Rome,  the  better  Protestants  they 
will  appear ;  and  the  more  they  denounced  the 
pope  and  his  priests,  the  more  they  will  be  ap- 
preciated and  loved  by  Protestants  !  But  the  Lord 
has  impressed  my  mind  differently.  He  has 
shown  me  not  only  the  errors  of  popery,  but  also 
"  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus."  When  I  left  the 
church  of  Rome,  I  did  not  cease  to  love  the  mem- 
bers of  it;  nor  to  pray  for  the  conversion  of  their 
souls, — yea,  even  for  those  of  my  bitterest  perse- 
cutors. 

"Hence,"  adds  he,  "I  have  taken  up  the  pen 
to  write,  not  against  Romanists,  but  on  their  be- 
half. I  come  to  offer  myself  as  an  humble,  but 
faithful  guide,  I  trust,  to  lead  them  into  a  candid 
and  devout  investigation  of  the  divine  truths  of 
the  Holy  Bible,  and  to  aid  them  to  compare 
these  truths  with  the  dogmas  and  precepts  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  faith.  I  come  to  help  them  in 
God's  name,  and  by  his  grace  to  do  what  He  has 
enabled  me  successfully  to  do  myself.  And  when 
I  have  the  painful  task  faithfully  to  lift  the  veil 
and  expose  the  fatal  errors  of  popery   and  the 


INTRODUCTION.  XV 

abuses  of  the  Roman  church;  it  will  only  be  with 
the  view  of  laying  before  you,  my  friends,  in 
love,  and  with  earnest  prayer,  the  facts  of  which 
I  have  been  an  eye  and  an  ear  witness ;  and  also 
the  practices  which  every  Roman  Catholic  must 
adopt,  although  they  are  manifestly  contrary  to 
reason  and  to  the  practices  of  the  primitive  church, 
and  to  the  living  word  of  God. 

"And  allow  me  to  indulge  the  hope,"  adds  Dr. 
G.  "  that  every  Roman  Catholic  who  reads  these 
pages,  will  not  hesitate  to  imitate  the  applauded 
conduct  of  the  ancient  noble  Bereans;  and  search 
for  themselves  the  scriptures,  to  see  whether  these 
things  be  so.  For  contrary  to  the  erring  traditions 
of  the  fathers,  the  most  High  God  has  declared 
that  "  the  holy  scriptures  are  able  to  make  you 
wise  unto  salvation,  through  faith  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus."  2  Tim.  iii.  15.  And  again  He 
saith,  "search  the  scriptures,  for  in  them  ye  think 
ye  have  eternal  life,  and  they  are  they  which  tes- 
tify of  me."     John  v,  39. 

"Above  all,"  adds  my  estimable  and  beloved 
friend  Dr.  G.  "  I  am  anxious  to  exhibit  to  my 
Protestant  and  Roman  Catholic  friends,  the  mira- 
culous manner  in  which  my  blessed  Lord  and 
Master  brought  me  out  of  the  darkness  of  popery 


XVI  INTRODUCTION. 

by  my  conversion  to  the  light  and  hope  of  the 
blessed  gospel  of  his  grace. 

"Finally,  if  through  the  medium  of  this  my 
feeble  effort,  there  should  be  even  one  soul 
brought  not  only  from  popery  to  Protestantism, 
but  into  the  heavenly  light  of  the  Sun  of  Right- 
eousness ;  and  should  thence  be  enabled  to  burst 
asunder  the  fatal  chains  of  tradition,  superstition 
and  idolatry,  which  it  was  my  calamity  to  wear 
thirty -one  years,  and  come  forth  redeemed  and 
disenthralled,  my  labors  shall  be  amply  recom- 
pensed ;  and  all  the  praise  and  glory  shall  be  to 
the  divine  God,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost: 
Amen." 

W.  C.  Brownlee, 

Of  the  Protestant  Reformed  Dutch  Church 

of  the  City  of  New  York. 

New  York,  April,  1843. 


CREDENTIALS  OF  THE  AUTHOR. 

I  have  no  doubt,  that  some  into  whose  hands 
ihis  little  volume  may  fall  will  stigmatize  me  as  a 
"heretic,  but  it  matters  not  what  men  may  say,  I 
will  answer  them  in  the  language  of  the  apostle, 
that :  "lam  determined  not  to  know  any  thing 
among  men,  save  Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified.5' 

There  Will  be  others  as  is  usually  the  case, 
who  will  say  that  1  have  written,  to  gain  favor 
with  Protestants,  from  whom  I  may  have  received 
some  temporal  support ;  with  regard  to  a  charge 
of  this  character,  I  would  appeal  to  the  Protestants 
of  all  denominations,  if  any  of  them  can  come 
forward  and  say  that  I  have  asked,  or  even  receiv- 
ed the  value  of  a  farthing  from  any  one  of  them 
in  the  Union,  in  the  form  of  assistance  ;  but  quite 
the  reverse,  for  I  have  often  labored  without  any 
emolument,  for  the  promotion  of  the  Redeemer's 
kingdom. 

To  prove  this  I  will  advance  an  instance  from 
the  proceedings  of  the  Synodical  Convention  of 
xhe  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  in  the  State  of 
Maryland,  for  the  year  1840,  by  the  President, 
the  Rev.  Benjamin  Kurtz,  D.  D. 
1 


2  ci.ei>e:jtYals' &f  the  author. 

M  0i?  'ths'14'th  Korember,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Giustini- 
ani,  formerly  a  respectable  and  zealous  Honiara 
Catholic  priest  in  the  city  of  Rome,  but  for  several 
years  a  faithful  Protestant  minister  of  the  gospel,, 
in  the  employment  of  the  Western  Colonial  Mis- 
sionary Society  in  England  as  missionary  in  Aus- 
tralia, applied  for  admission  into  our  Synod.  After 
examining  his  numerous  and  flattering  credentials 
from  the  most  respectable  sources,  and  satisfying 
ourselves  of  his  qualifications  and  the  purity  of 
his  motives,  we  cheerfully  received  him,  and  it 
will  now  devolve  upon  the  ministerium  to  decide 
as  to  the  propriety  of  that  act, 

"  The  committee  constituted  to  take  measures  to 
erect  a  missionary  station,  for  the  benefit  of  our 
German  brethren  on  Fell's  Point,  Baltimore,  com- 
posed  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kurtz,  sen.,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Morris,  Mr.  Sauerwein,  and  your  President,  ap- 
pointed the  Rev.  Dr.  Giustiniani  as  missionary  to 
that  station,  and  agreed  to  allow  him  the  compen- 
sation promised  by  the  synod.  But  we  were  very 
much  embarrassed  for  the  want  of  funds  to  carry 
out  the  design  of  synod.  Though  a  resolution 
was  passed  requiring  all  our  ministers  to  take  up 
collections  or  subscriptions  for  the  maintenance 
of  said  missionary,  yet  very  few  complied,  and 


CREDENTIALS    OF   THE    AUTHOR.  3 

the  consequence  was,  that  though  your  missionary 
labored  most  zealously,  "  in  season  and  out  of 
season,"  yet  the  trivial  recompense  we  were  en- 
abled to  afford  him,  fell  far  short  of  what  he  had 
a  right  to  expect,  and  was  by  no  means  adequate 
to  his  support.  Perceiving  the  embarrassment  of 
your  committee,  arising  from  the  non-compliance 
of  the  members  of  synod  with  the  resolution  to 
raise  funds  for  his  support,  he  sometime  since 
magnanimously  resigned  all  claims  on  the  com-1 
mittee  that  might  accrue  from  future  services,  and 
generously  continued  his  missionary  labors  at  his 
own  cost,  subject,  however,  to  the  instruction  and 
control  of  your  committee,  just  as  if  he  were  re-> 
ceiving  the  promised  compensation  from  them." 

It  is  not  very  desirable  for  any  man  to  speak  of 
himself;  but  it  being  natural  for  my  readers,  to 
whom  I  am  about  to  disclose  some  articles  of 
Rome,  and  the  manner  in  which  the  Lord  brought 
me  out  from  the  darkness  of  popery  to  the  mar- 
velous light  of  the  gospel,  to  desire  to  know  some- 
thing of  the  author.  I  here  submit  the  following 
facts. 

A  Roman  by  birth,  and  educated  in  the  metro- 
polis of  the  world,  having  studied  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  Rome,  finished  there  the  course  of  Theo- 


4  CREDENTIALS   OF   THE   AUTHOR. 

logy,  graduated  and  promoted  to  sacred  orders  in 
the  Basilic  Church  of  St.  John  in  Lateran,  in 
Rome,  the  reader  may  be  assured,  that  the  author 
must  know  something  of  Rome  and  papal  cor- 
ruptions. Therefore  he  sincerely  believes  it  to 
be  a  duty  incumbent  upon  him  to  give  a  short  ac- 
count of  it,  in  order  to  enlighten  the  Protestants, 
and  direct  the  Roman  Catholics  to  the  sure  foun- 
tain of  life,  Jesus  Christ  the  only  mediator  be- 
tween God  and  man. 

My  object  is  not  to  eulogise  myself,  but  to  show 
my  readers  that  I  am  what  I  profess,  and  as  some 
are  generally  apt  to  attack  ["when  they  can  not  re- 
sist the  truth]  the  writer,  instead  of  the  written 
truths  or  principles  which  are  set  forth,  I  thought 
it  my  duty  to  annex  my  credentials,  in  order  that 
the  reader  may  be  divested  of  all  doubts  of  the 
truth  of  the  stated  facts,  which  are  laid  before 
him. 

First.  I  lay  before  the  reader  the  testimonials 
of  the  Professors  of  the  Theological  Faculties  of 
the  University,  Gregoriana,  where  I  finished 
my  regular  course  of  Theology,  before  I  was  or- 
dained. 

I  lay  also  my  ordination  letter  before  my  rea- 
ders, which  I  sent  for  when  I  was  in  Switzerland, 


CERTIFICATES    FROM    ROME.  O 

as  a  legal  document,  to  arrange  my  temporal  af- 
fairs, authenticated  in  the  office  of  the  Archbishop 
at  Florence,  and  also  of  good  authorities  of  this 
country,  that  these  copies  are  true  from  the  ori- 
ginal. 


CERTIFICATES  FROM  ROME. 

Ego  subscripts  testor  R.  Dnum.  Aloysium 
Giustiniani  per  tres  annos  mea  sub  disciplina  in 
Gregoriana  Universitate  Collegii  Romani  ad  sacrae 
Theologiae  studium,  summa  cum  laude,  et  pro- 
gressu  incubuisse,  atque  tarn  evidentia  perspica- 
cis  ingenei,  bonitatisqne  moribus  specimen  pre- 
buisse,  ut  quisquis  de  ipso  optimam  spem  conci- 
pere  queat,  pro  re  veritate  fateor. 

Datum  Romoe,  Die  15  Novembris,  1826. 

Prosper  Piatti, 
Collegii  Rom.  Theologize  Professor. 


Testor  ego  infrascriptus  tarn  de  annis  ut  supra, 
quam  de  progressu  in  scientiis  biblicisinhac  Gre- 
goriana Universitate,  nee  non  in  Theolog.  Moral. 
in  Seminario  Romano  pro  viribus  studuisse,  ac 
in  his  scienciis  ita  fuit  versatus,  ut  in  agone  litter- 


6  CERTIFICATES    FROM    ROME. 

ario  plnries  certaverit,  et  prestantissimas  laudes 
certando  semper  meruerit,  in  quorum  fidem  dabam 
ex  oedibus  Die  16  idem  mensis,  1826. 

J.  Caio.  Pellicani, 
Collegii  Romani  ex  Professor,  et  h.  t. 
[L.  S.]  Seminarii  Romani  Publ.  Prof. 

Gaspar  Gasparini  Scolarum  Prefectus. 


D.  Placidus  ord.S.  Benedict!  Congreg.  Camal- 
dulensis  tituli  S.  Crucis  in  Jerusalem.  S.  R.  E. 
Presbiter  Cardinalis  Zurla  S.  S.,  D.  N.  Papa? 
Vicarius  Generalis,  Roman;eque  Curias,  ej usque 
Districtus  Judex  Ordinarius. 

Universis,  et  singulis  proesentes  nostras  visuris, 
lecturis  pariter,  at  audituris,  notum  facimus,  et 
testamur  Illmum.  ac  Revmum.  P.  D.  Laurentium 
Mattei  Patriarc.  Antiochen.  Romas  die  Sabb.  4 
temporum  post  Fest.  S.  Lucioe  23  M.  Decembris 
1826,  in  Sacram  Lateranens.  Basilicam  Genera- 
lem  Ordinationem  inter  Missarum  Solemn,  cele- 
brand.  de  licentia  nostra  inter  alios  dilectissim.  no- 
bis in  Christo  fill.  Aloysium  Giustiniani  Romanum 
at  titulum  Pensionis  praevio  examine  a  R.  R.  P. 
P.  D.  D.  Examinatoribus  in  Urbe  deputatis,  ido- 
neum  repertum,  et  admissum  cum  ceremoniis,  et 


CERTIFICATES    FROM    ROME.  7 

^olemnitatibus  necessariis,  et  opporlimis  in  simi- 
'iibtis  fieri  solitis,  et  consuetis  juxta,  et  secundum 
S.  R.  E.  ritum  morem,  et  consuetudinem  ad  sacr. 
"S.  Diaconatus  ordinem  praviis  Publicationem,  et 
Spiritualem  Exercitium  rite,  et  recte  Scrvor.  serv. 
in  Domino  Promovisse,  et  ordinasse  ;  in  quorum 
omnium  et  smgulorum  fidem  has  prasentes  literas 
a  nobis,  seu  ab  Illmo.  ac  Revmo.  P.  D.  Vicesge- 
rente,  etD.  secret  nostro  subseriptas,  Sigilloque 
nostro  munitas  fieri  jussimus. 

Datur  Rom.e  ex  oedibus  nostris  hac  die  primam 
mensis  Februari  anno  1827,  Jurisdict.  XIV.  Pon- 
stificatus  Sanctissimi  in  Christo  Patris,  et  D.  n.D. 
Lconis,  Divina  Procidentia  Papae  XII.  anno  ejus 

IV.  && 

C.  J,  Patriarch, 

fL  S.]    Constantinopolitanus.  Vices  Gerens,  8,-c 
Cos.  Antonius.  Canonicus  Argenti. 

Secrctarius. 


Concorda  la  presente  copia  col  suo  originale 
esistente  in  filza  di  atti  straordinarj,  che  si  con- 
serva  nella  curia  Arcivescovile  di  Firenza  di  1  Lu- 
gho  1830. 

In  fede,  Gio.  Pensi, 

£L.  S.]  Cancelliere  Arcivescovile. 


8  CERTIFICATES    FROM    ROME. 

I  have  read  and  carefully  compared  the  ab&v& 
copy,  with  the  original  document;  also  his  other- 
testimonials,  together  with  the  document  given  to> 
him  by  "the  Consistoire  de  Geneve,"  before 
whom  Dr.  Giustini&ni  solemnly  renounced  Ro- 
manism. 

\V.  C.  Brownlee, 

Of  the  Prof.  Ref.  Dutch  Church  of  N  York. 
New  York,  March  22d>  1843. 

Having  seen  the  originals,  as  above,  and  having" 

do  doubt  of  their  genuineness  and  authenticity* 

I   cheerfully  add   my  attestation  to   that  of  Dr. 

Brownlee. 

Samuel  II.  Cox,  Pastor  of  the 

First  Presbyterian  Church  of  this  City. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y,  March  22d,  1843. 

Having  read  and  compared  the  above  copy  with 
the  original  document  and  believing  them  genuine 
and  faithful,  I  freely  concur  with  the  testimo- 
nials of  Drs.  Brownlee  and  Cox. 

Charles  Martin,  Pastor  of 
St.  Matthew's  Ev.  Luth.  Church  of  N.  York- 

Chas.  F.  E.  Stoiilmann,  Pastor  of  the 
United  German  Luth.  Churches  in  N  York, 
New  York,  March  22.d,  184a. 


OBSTACLES   OF   CONVERSION.  9 

I  have  compared  the  foregoing  certificate  of  or- 
dination with  the  original,  and  find  it  to  be  a  cor- 
rect copy. 

Jno.  G.  Morris. 

Baltimore,  April  7th,  4843. 


THE  CONVERSION  OF  A  ROMAN  CATH- 
OLIC IS  A  GREAT  MIRACLE. 

The  age  of  moral  miracles  has  not  ceased, 
whatever  the  opinion  of  modern  theologians  to 
the  contrary  may  be,  whatever  proofs  they  may 
adduce  to  support  their  opinions,  I  will  answer 
them  in  the  language  of  the  blind  man,  who  was 
healed  by  our  Savior;  "One  thing  I  know,  that 
whereas,  I  was  blind,  now  I  see."  I  know  that 
the  Lord  has  worked  a  miracle  in  my  heart,  once 
I  wa3  a  blind  leader  of  the  blind,  now  I  know 
that  without  grace  I  can  not  do  any  thing.  I  know 
it,  I  have  felt  the  miraculous  power  of  grace  in 
my  heart;  who  will  contest  the  reality  of  it? — 
That  the  blind  received  their  sight,  and  the  lame 
walked,  and  the  lepers  were  cleansed,  and  the 
deaf  heard,  and  that  the  dead  were  raised  up,  are 
undoubtedly  miracles,  but  that  He  should  make 


10  OBSTACLES    IN    THE    WAY 

such  an  extraordinary  change  in  the  heart  of  man, 
who  had  imbibed  the  religious  superstitions  of  the 
church  of  Rome  for  thirty-one  years ;  to  give  him 
grace  and  strength  to  leave  mother,  sisters,  friends 
and  all  that  was  nearest  and  dearest  to  him  on 
earth,  for  Christ's  sake,  is  an  astounding  moral 
miracle,  that  cannot  be  properly  appreciated  by 
any  man  who  has  not  been  the  subject  of  such  a 
conversion. 

My  mind  has  often  been  filled  with  astonish- 
ment, and  deep  meditation  on  the  subject  of  con- 
version. I  am  convinced,  that  when  a  Protestant 
is  converted,  he  believes  the  truth,  which  he  once 
considered  folly,  and  looks  upon  the  formalities 
in  which  he  was  brought  up  from  his  infancy, 
(which  have  been  augmented  and  strengthened 
with  his  age,)  as  many  tyrants,  which  bound  and 
shackled  his  mind,  or  as  many  clouds  which  have 
darkened  the  horizon  of  truth,  and  deprived  him 
of  the  light  of  the  sun  of  righteousness,  which 
he  now  enjoys  in  peace  with  his  God. 

The  conversion  of  a  Protestant  who  had  aban- 
doned himself  even  to  the  vilest  passions  of  his 
heart,  violating  openly  the  precepts  of  God,  by 
committing  all  sorts  of  sinful  acts,  is  certainly  a 
miracle;  it  is  the  work  of  the  almighty  power  of 
God,  still  the  conversion  of  a  Roman  Catholic  is 


OF    A    ROMAN    CATHOLIC.  11 

a  greater  miracle.  For  the  Protestant,  though  lie 
was  living  in  vice,  never  abhorred  virtue,  nor 
detested  those  who  practised  it.  He  was  not  reli- 
gious, because  he  considered  its  practice  difficult, 
but  never  rejected  it  as  an  abominable  practice,  and 
during  the  time  when  he  openly  transgressed  the 
laws  of  God,  he  never  considered  the  observance 
of  them  sinful,  nor  did  he  hate  those  who  faith- 
fully practised  them  ;  it  never  came  into  his  mind 
to  extirpate  the  faithful  believers  in  the  Bible  with 
fire  and  faggot,  as  obnoxious  beings  worthy  of 
the  curse  of  God  and  man.  But  a  Roman  Cath- 
olic, before  his  conversion  to  the  truth  of  the  Bi- 
ble, is  obliged  to  consider  all  other  religious 
creeds  as  abominations  in  the  eyes  of  God.  I 
never  heard  them  spoken  of  without  an  impreca- 
tion. The  name  of  Luther  is  never  mentioned 
without  the  epithet,  **  maledetto  Luthero,"  the 
cursed  Luther.  The  name  of  Calvin  with  the 
addition:  l'execrata  memoria  di  Calvino,"  the  ex- 
ecrated memory  of  Calvin.  The  Reformation 
was  never  a  subject  of  conversion  without  a  pro- 
fusion of  anathemas.  Every  Easter  I  heard  the 
Pope  curse  the  Protestants  from  the  balcony  of 
the  Vatican,  and  bless  the  faithful  Catholics,  giv- 
ing them  an  entire  remission  of  all  their  sins,  and 
five  hundred  days  indulgence  from   the  pains  of 


12  OBSTACLES   IN    THE   WAY 

Purgatory  to  all  who  have  confessed,  and  com- 
muned according  to  the  precepts  of  the  church. 
Is  it  possible  to  describe  the  horror  I  had  for  Pro- 
testantism, and  with  what  dread  all  others  look 
upon  it? 

Another  obstacle,  which  lies  in  the  way  of  a 
Roman  Catholic,  and  one  of  the  greatest  of  all,  is 
the  false  peace  in  which  Rome  cradles  her  follow- 
ers. No  Protestant  can  ever  imagine,  much  less 
have  an  adequate  idea  of  those  feelings  which  a 
devoted  Roman  Catholic  has  after  he  leaves  the 
confessional.  I  remember  it  with  sorrow,  and 
blush  over  my  ignorance,  that  I  could  be  so  cred- 
ulous. When  my  conscience  accused  me  of  sin- 
fulness, when  my  heart  was  nearly  broken  with 
the  sorrowful  conviction  of  having  sinned  against 
my  God,  I  often  kneeled  in  a  corner  of  the  church 
before  an  image  of  the  virgin  Mary,  or  before  a 
statue  of  a  saint,  praying  for  rest  to  my  troubled 
soul ;  I  was  ashamed  to  acquaint  the  priest  with 
all  the  indwellings  of  my  heart,  at  the  same  time 
I  feared  if  I  should  neglect  that  precept  of  the 
church,  that  I  must  go  to  hell,  in  that  internal 
war  with  myself,  and  I  may  say  with  my  God,  I 
approached  the  confessional ;  I  clothed  my  sins 
in  the  garment  of  self-righteousness ;  instead  of 


OF   A    ROMAN    CATHOLIC.  13 

accusing  myself,  I  complained  of  temptations, 
and  strong  inclinations  to  sin ;  in  many  instances 
I  excused  myself;  I  promised  every  thing  only 
to  obtain  absolution.  I  repeat,  that  no  Protestant 
can  enter  into  those  feelings,  which  I  had  after 
having  received  absolution ;  though  I  was  con- 
scious of  having  deceived  the  priest,  still  the  idea 
of  having  obtained  the  absolution,  I  felt  as  easy 
as  if  I  had  really  obtained  the  remission  of  all  my 
sins,  and  a  license  to  begin  a  new  catalogue  for 
the  next  time  of  confession. 

My  readers  will  think,  that  this  was  my  indi- 
vidual fault ;  other  papists  are  more  sincere  in  the 
observance  of  the  so-called  sacrament  of  penance. 
My  readers  can  be  assured,  that  one-third  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Rome,  confess  only  pro  forma,  to 
obtain  the  parochial  ticket,1  that  they  might  not 

1  The  ticket  is  given  by  the  parish  priest  at  the  altar, 
when  he  is  administering  the  communion.  A  month 
after  Easter  he  visits  every  house  in  his  parish,  col- 
lecting the  said  tickets,  in  order  to  know  who  had  ne- 
glected that  precept  of  the  church.  A  person  who  is 
found  without  the  ticket,  is  kindly  admonished,  but.  if 
obstinate,  his  name  is  fixed  on  the  doors  of  the  four 
Basilic  churches,  viz.,  St.  Peter's*  St.  John  of  Lateran, 
»S7.  Maria  Maggiore,  and  St.  Maria  del  Trasttvere, 
with  the  excommunication  of  the  Pope  annexed. — 
Should  this  second  effort  be  also  fruitless,  the  Pope,  as 
the  Father  of  the  faithful,  and  anxious  that  no  soul 
should  be  lost,  causes  him  to  be  put  in  prison,  where 
he  is  visited  by  the  priests.     But  should  the  third  ef- 


14  OBSTACLES   IN   THE  WAV 

be  subject  to  the  vexations  and  punishments  to 
which  the  disobedient  members  are  exposed.  A 
large  number  of  the  inhabitants  do  not  confess  at 
all,  they  buy  the  ticket  from  the  boys,  who  usu- 
ally serve  the  priests  in  the  vestibidum,  or  room* 
where  they  dress  themselves  to  appear  before  the 
altar.  I  remember  having  once  bought  such  a 
ticket  from  the  Sacristano.1  Not  out  of  contempt 
to  the  sacrament,  but  for  conscience  sake ;  I 
thought  it  a  sacrilege  to  commune  without  having 
obtained  the  absolution.  I  preferred  to  deceive 
the  priest,  by  giving  him  a  bought  ticket,  rather 
than  my  God,  by  communing  with  a  load  of  sin 
upon  my  soul. 

Another  impediment,  not  less  obstructive  in 
the  way  of  the  truth  of  the  gospel,  is  the  temporal 
jjrospects,  which  the  church  of  Rome  holds  out 
to  her  members.  It  is  like  a  barrier  raised  up 
against  the  gospel  truth.     It  is  like  an  iron  grasp, 

fort  prove  fruitless  also,  then  the  Pope  with  the  au* 
thority  of  the  Vicar  of  Christ,  and  the  love  of  the  good 
Shepherd,  gives  him  into  the  good  care  of  the  tortures 
of  the  Holy  Inquisition,  until  he  returns  into  the  bo- 
som of  the  mother  church. 

KSacristano  is  the  servant  of  the  church,  whose  of- 
fice is  to  dress  the  priest  before  he  celebrates  the  mass, 
lighting  the  candles,  adjusting  the  altar,  and  assisting 
at  the  mass,  &c. 


OF    A    ROMAN    CATHOLIC.  15 

which  holds  them  back.  Every  respectable  family 
in  Rome  has  a  priest  in  its  bosom,  who  is  the 
hope  of  the  family.  Worldly  honors ;  ccclessias- 
tical  offices ;  riches  of  this  world  are  expected, 
and  to  obtain  them,  nothing  is  neglected  ;  the  mask 
of  hypocrisy  is  put  on;  intrigues  are  entered  into, 
even  immoral  means,  and  if  necessary  carnal 
prostitutions  to  some  cardinal  or  prelate,  or  even 
to  the  humble  confessor,  are  used,  as  means  to 
become  great  in  the  Catholic  and  Apostolic 
Church  of  Rome. 

After  all  these  repugnances  and  antipathies 
towards  Protestantism;  worldly  inducements; 
spiritual  encouragements,  and  false  peace  to  the 
troubled  soul ;  add  also  the  fear  of  papal  excom- 
munication, and  the  tortures  of  the  Holy  Inquis- 
ition, and  then  ask  whether  the  conversion  of  a 
Roman  Catholic  is  not  a  great  wonder?  Yes!  a 
moral  miracle,  as  great  as  the  opening  of  the  eyes 
of  the  blind,  and  the  raising  up  of  the  dead.  For 
it  is  the  opening  of  the  eyes  of  the  blind ;  and 
the  raising  of  the  dead  in  sins. 


EASTER. 

As  my  intention  is  not  only  to  give  my  person* 
al  experience,  but  also  to  describe  Rome  as  it  is 
now,  the  digression  of  the  present  chapter  will 
not  be  considered  a  deviation  from  the  subject, 
but  an  elucidation  of  the  moral  corruption  of  the 
church  of  Rome.  Having  mentioned  Easter, 
when  his  Holiness  the  Pope  so  profusely  pours 
out  curses  on  Protestants,  it  will  not  be  out  of  or- 
der to  give  a  description  of  the  manner  in  which 
that  festival  is  celebrated,  and  sanctified  in  Rome. 

Easter  is  one  of  the  three  great  festivals  in  the 
church  of  Rome.  It  is  true,  the  calendar  is  near- 
ly all  set  apart  to  the  commemoration  of  saints. 
We  have  more  saints  than  there  are  days  in  the 
year;  still  Easter  having  been  a  subject  of  agita- 
tion in  the  church,  and  the  cause  of  separation 
between  the  Latin  and  the  Greek  churches,1  Rome 
displays  more  luxury,  and  ecclesiastical  splendor 
in  its  celebration  than  in  any  other  festival  in  the 
calendar. 

JCirca  ann.  862. 


EASTER.  17 

The  Holy  week,  which  precedes  Easter,  is 
worthy  to  be  mentioned.  Every  amateur  of  mu- 
sic will  know  something  of  the  so  far  famed 
"miserere"  which  is  performed  in  the  Slxtin 
Chapel  during  the  last  three  evenings  of  the  Holy 
week.  The  chapel  is  in  the  Vatican,  painted  by 
Michael  Angelo,  fresh  as  if  his  master  pencil  had 
touched  it  only  to-day ;  on  the  right  of  the  altar 
a  throne  is  erected  for  the  Pope;  on  both  sides 
the  Cardinals  are  arrayed  in  purple,1  each  of  them 
assisted  by  their  respective  caudatario,-  and  Ma- 
estro di  ceremonial — The  patriarchs,  and  bish- 
ops in  their  pontifical  dress  ;  the  generals,  and 
chiefs  of  every  religious  order  in  their  monastic 
array.  The  lodges  erected  on  both  sides  of  the 
chapel  are  crowded  with  foreign  ambassadors, 
their  ladies  and  other  distinguished  foreigners  of 
both  sexes.  In  the  middle  of  the  chapel  is  a 
reading  desk  of  a  triangular  form  upon   which 

'The  cardinal's  usual  dress  is  scarlet  red,  but  in  the 
morning  they  dress  in  purple. 

-Caudatario  is  literally  translated  tail-bearer,  or  one 
who  carries  the  tail  of  the  cardinal's  toga. 

*  Maestro  di  ccrcmonia,  is  a  priest  who  directs  the 
order  in  pontifical  masses ;  every  cardinal  has  one  as 
an  apendix  to  his  suit,  and  in  the  house  of  his  emi- 
nence, he.  is  an  overseer  of  the  domestic  affairs. 


18  EASTER. 

thirteen  candles  are  burning,  as  a  symbol  of  the 
candelabrum  in  the  temple  of  Jerusalem  ;  others 
however,  say  of  our  Savior,  and  his  twelve  dis- 
ciples. Every  eye  is  directed  towards  the  throne ; 
the  Pope  giving  the  signal,  the  "miserere  meV 
is  commenced,  and  at  once  the  chapel  is  rendered 
vocal  by  a  hundred  voices.  To  describe  the  ef- 
fect, and  impression  which  it  produces  upon  the 
senses,  is  beyond  the  power  of  human  language. 
Ecclesiastical  splendor  Hashing  on  every  side  in 
a  thousand  forms,  military,  and  diplomatic  decor- 
ations of  all  the  courts  of  Europe,  the  display  of 
the  ladies,  and  other  fascinations  beggar  alt  des- 
cription. In  addition  to  this,  the  paintings,  of  the 
most  renowned  masters  of  Italy,  the  best  perform- 
ers of  the  theatrical  artists,  and  ehoresters,  and 
the  most  unrivalled  voices  of  Eunuchs,  are  too 
overpowering  to  be  depicted.  After  every  psalm 
a  candle  is  extinguished,  until  the  last,  which  re- 
mains the  only  one  burning  in  the  whole  chapel. 
We  can  see  the  colors  gradually  darken,  and  the 
figures  of  the  paintings  by  degrees  lose  their  form, 
a  striking  symbol  of  the  papal  power,  which  is 
loosing  its  influence,  and  gradually  Aiding  away 
like  the  twilight  of  the  evening. 

Saturday  before  Easter,  at  twelve  o'clock  the 
bells  are  heard  from  every  steeple,  the  clouds  are 


EASTER.  1 9 

rent  by  their  sounds,  and  tho  enrth  trembles  from 
the  roaring  of  the  canon  from  Fort  St.  Jki- 
gelo;  the  cars  are  deafened  by  the  merry  clamors 
of  the  children  in  the  streets,  and  the  reports  of 
pistols  fired  nearly  in  every  house.  The  re- 
membrance of  that  joyful  spectacle  produces  now 
a  very  different  sensation  in  my  heart,  for  I  know 
the  Savior  has  risen  from  the  dead,  and  I  with 
him. 

Saturday  evening  at  seven  o'clock,  P.  M.  every 
dwelling,  where  an  image  of  a  Madonna,  or  any 
saint  is  stationed  for  the  houses  are  illuminated,1 
altars  are  erected,  lytanies  are  sung ;  and  prayers 
upon  bended  knees  are  offered  to  those  saints,  all 
these  in  the  middle  of  the  streets.  In  the  mean- 
time the  multitude  of  the  (so  called)  better  class 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Rome  are  directed  toward 
{St.  Peter's,  where  the  grandest,  and  most  impos- 
ing spectacle  is  to  be  seen.  But  at  the  same  time 
the  most  revolting  to  every  moral  sense,  and  reli- 
gious feeling. 

A  cross  (covered  with  brass,  semetrically  illu- 
minated with  thousands  of  lamps)  is  suspended 

*It  is  the  custom  in  Italy  to  have  niches  in  the  walls; 
the  outside  of  the  houses,  in  which  the  Virgin  Mary, 
or  some  saint  is  p]aced,  as  a  protector  of  the  house, 
and  family. 


20  EASTER. 

in  the  middle  of  the  church.  The  reader  may 
form  some  kind  of  an  idea  of  the  colossal  height 
of  that  cross,  when  he  is  informed  that  its  magni- 
tude does  apparently,  not  diminish  even  after  be- 
ing suspended  at  a  tremendous  height  above  the 
heads  of  the  people.  Round  that  cross  you  can  see, 
promenading  arm  in  arm,  the  lover  with  his  did- 
cinea,  as  though  promenading  in  a  dancing  sa- 
loon ;  chatting,  laughing,  and  indulging  in  most 
irreverent  acts,  which  would  be  considered  an  of- 
fence in  a  respectable  hotel,  these  are  committed 
publicly  in  the  sanctuary,  under  the  cross  of 
Christ.  As  the  church  is  entirely  dark,  except 
the  light  which  the  cross  reflects  in  it,  there  are 
sometimes  lovers  of  darkness,  rather  than  of  light ; 
who  often  lose  their  way  in  the  adjacent  collon- 
ades,  and  chapels,  where  they  perpetrate  the  most 
wicked  acts,  of  which  every  honest  man  would 
blush,  except  the  adorers  of  the  cross  in  the 
church  of  St.  Peter's.  This  spectacle  lasts  until 
eleven  o'clock  in  the  night ;  decency  forbids  me 
to  say  more,  and  constrains  me  to  relinquish  the 
subject  of  the  adoration  of  the  cross  in  St.  Pe- 
ter's at  Rome. 

Easter  morning.     The  roaring  of  the  cannon 
announces  the  ushering  in  of  the  morn;  the  har- 


EASTER.  21 

monious  sounds  from  the  thousand  steeples  miti- 
gate the  roughness  of  the  first,  and  invite  the 
slumbering  beauty  to  leave  her  couch,  and  pre- 
pare for  the  rendezvous  given  the  last  night  under 
the  illuminated  cross. 

Nine  o'clock,  A.  M.  The  square  of  St.  Pe- 
ter's presents  the  most  varied,  and  interesting 
spectacle,  State  carriages  of  all  descriptions ; 
the  cardinals  in  their  full  dress,  and  suit,  the  am- 
bassadors of  all  the  foreign  courts,  with  all  the 
particular  characteristics  of  their  nations;  car- 
riages of  the  innumerable  prelates,  bishops,  and 
chiefs  of  the  monastic  orders;  two  regiments  of 
soldiers  in  arms  ;  martial  music,  the  spouting  of 
the  gigantic  fountains;  thousands,  and  ten  thous- 
ands of  pedestrians  of  every  sex  and  class,  dress- 
ed in  their  best  garments,  take  their  posts  under 
the  colonades,  or  other  spots,  as  they  think  the 
most  convenient ;  this  lasts  until  one  o'clock,  P. 
M.,  so  that  the  whole  square  is  thronged  with 
people.  One  o'clock  is  usually  the  time  of  the 
appearance  of  the  Pope  on  the  balcony  of  the 
church ;  a  dead  silence  prevails  throughout  the 
whole  mass  of  the  people ;  every  eye  is  directed 
to  the  spot,  with  watches  in  the  hand,  the  min- 
utes are  counted ;  in  the  mean  time  the  balcony 


22  EASTER. 

is  filling  with  cardinals,  bishops,  and  monks ;  the 
attention  becomes  so  rivetted,  that  a  sigh  might 
be  heard ;  at  length  the  Pope  appears  in  an  arm 
chair  carried  upon  the  shoulders  of  eight  persons 
between  two  gigantic  fans.  Then  the  deafening 
shouts  of  the  people,  the  sonorous  martial  music, 
the  roaring  of  the  cannon  rend  the  clouds.  "  Pa- 
dre la  santa  benedizione,"  (father  the  holy  bles- 
sing,) bursts  from  every  mouth ;  the  handkerchiefs 
are  waved  by  the  ladies,  and  the  hats  by  the  men. 
All  prostrate  themselves  upon  the  ground,  they 
receive  the  blessing  from  the  Pope  ;  a  prelate  then 
reads  the  so  called  "  Bulla  Ccena  Domini"  in 
which  the  most  horrible  curses  against  the  here- 
tics, and  infidels  are  pronounced,  and  a  blessing 
upon  all  the  faithful.  Thus  ends  the  spectacle 
for  this  time. 

In  the  afternoon  all  the  promenades  are  visited, 
the  wine  houses  filled ;  the  places  of  amusement 
enjoyed  until  the  evening,  when  all  again  repair 
to  the  square  of  St.  Peter's  to  enjoy  the  illumina- 
tion of  the  cupola.1     It  is  horrible  to  think,  that 

^he  cupola  is  illuminated  by  three  hundred  per- 
sons, who  ar^  stationed  with  lightened  torches  within 
the  interior,  in  order  that  they  should  not  be  seen,  and 
as  soon  as  the  first  stroke  of  seven  o'clock  is  heard, 
they  rush  forward  and  light  the  lamps  assigned  unto 
each  of  them,  so  that  in  one  minute  the  whole  cupola 


CONVERSION    OF    THE    AUTHOR  23 

suductions  of  the  innocent,  wicked  plans  framed, 
and  perpetrated  in  those  days,  partly  in  the  sanc- 
tuary under  the  eyes  of  the  priests  shall  be  called 
a  religious  worship. 


NARRATIVE 

OF    THE   MANNER    IN    WHICH    THE    PROVIDENCE    OF 
GOD  SHOWED  ME  THE  ERRORS  OF  POPERY. 

As  the  heaven  is  high  above  the  earth,  so  great 
is  God's  mercy  towards  men ;  and  as  far  as  the 
east  is  from  the  west,  so  far  are  his  counsels  from 
ours.  One  day,  it  was  a  charming  summer  day, 
a  day  when  an  Italian  sun  sheds  its  enlivening 
rays  over  the  city  of  the  world  ;  who  could  think 

is  illuminated,  even  the  cross  on  the  top  has  three 
lights.  In  addition  to  this,  the  reflection  of  these 
lighls  in  the  spouts  of  the  gigantic  fountains,  where 
every  drop  in  the  air  is  like  a  prism,  and  represents 
thousands  of  rainbows,  is  above  all  description. — 
When  Joseph  II.  of  Austria  visited  Rome,  the  Pope 
gave  an  illumination  in  honor  of  that  august  stranger, 
when  he  had  watched  the  spouting  of  the  fountains 
for  a  short  time,  he  said  :  "It  is  enough."  But  how 
much  greater  was  his  surprise  when  he  was  informed 
that  these  were  perpetual  fountains.  And  at  the  first 
stroke  of  seven  o'clock  the  Secretary  of  State  asked 
for  a  pinch  of  snuff  and  in  the  time  the  emperor  of 
Austria  turned  to  give  his  snuff-box,  the  whole  cupola 
appeared  in  fire.  Joseph  was  so  astonished,  that  he 
would  not  take  the  snuff-box  back,  but  gave  it  as  a 
present  to  the  cardinal,  Secretary  of  State. 


24     CONVERSION  OF  THE  AUTHOR. 

that  this  would  be  the  day,  upon  which  I  was  to 
be  emancipated  from  the  thraldom  of  superstition 
and  freed  from  the  fetters  of  moral  and  religious 
slavery.  Coming,  as  usual,  from  the  public  library 
of  the  Sapienza,  on  my  way  home  I  passed  the 
Piazza  Novona,  one  of  the  public  squares  of  that 
name,  and  there  encountered  the  stand  of  an  anti- 
quarian, as  one  who  sold  second-handed  books. 
After  having  examined  his  stock  and  found  noth- 
ing which  could  be  of  use  for  my  library,  I  saw  a 
basket  on  the  ground  with  very  old  books,  which 
he  offered  me  for  ire  Bajocchj,  four  cents  a  piece. 
I  searched  and  searched,  and  found  a  small  volume 
in  the  French  language,  a  translation  from  the  Eng- 
lish, entitled:  "Father  Clement."  I  thought 
it  a  life  of  some  saint,  and  being  written  in  French, 
I  thought  it  might  be  of  double  benefit  for  edifica- 
tion  as  well  as  instruction.  I  paid  my  four  cents 
and  left  the  stand.  How  great  was  my  surprise 
when  in  reading  Father  Clement,  I  found  a  dis- 
cussion between  a  Jesuit  and  a  Protestant,  instead 
of  a  life  of  a  saint.  All  my  attention  was  directed 
to  one  point,  where  is  the  truth  ?  After  having 
attentively  perused  the  little  book,  I  read  again 
and  again  the  scriptural  passages  in  favor  of  the 
arguments.     I  could  not  then  believe  that  such 


CONVERSION    OP  *THE    MJTIIOR.  25 

ages  were  in  the  Bible,  and  what  was  still 
Worse,  I  had  no  Bible  to  confront  the  truth  and 
correctness  of  the  passages.  Some  of  my  read- 
ers will  think  it  impossible  that  a  Roman  Catho- 
lic priest  should  be  without  a  Bible ;  they  will  at- 
tribute it  to  my  own  lukewarmness.  I  can  assure 
them  that  few,  very  few  priests  in  Rome  and 
throughout  Italy  are  in  the  possession  of  thrt 
Holy  book,  and  those  who  have  it  keep  it  like 
any  other  classical  book  only  as  an  ornament  in 
their  libraries.1 

Having  no  B;blc  to  verify  the  truth  of  the  pas- 
sages quoted  by  the  Protestant,  I  went  to  the  pub- 
lic library  of  the  Dominicans,  called,  "La  3Ii- 
nerva"  from  the  church  which  was  once  a  tem- 
ple dedicated  to  that  divinity.  But  what  was  my 
surprise,  when  on  asking  Frater  Jlmbrosio  for  a 
Polyglot  Bible,  he  asked  me  if  I  had  the  permis- 
sion from  the  Maestro  del  Sacro  Palazzo  to  read 
it  ?  I  told  him  with  resentment  that  I  never  knew 
of  the  necessity  of  such  a  license ;  as  a  theolo- 

'When  I  studied  theology,  I  heard  twice  every  week 
the  lectures  on  Disquiaif.io  Biblica,  and  never  saw  a 
Bible  in  the  hand  of  the  professor,  nor  in  the  hand  of 
any  of  the  students.  The  professor  dictated  from  his 
papers  on  the  controversy  of  the  creation ;  about  the 
Adamites  and  Pre-adamites  and  all  such  stuff,  which 
was  neither  for  the  head  nor  for  the  heart. 

3 


26      CONVERSION  OF  THE  AUTHOR. 

gian  I  thought  it  an  affront  to  refuse  me  the  Bible  - 
Fra.  Ambrosio,  w.Uo  was  a  very  good  natured  old 
man,  and  who  know  me  from  a  boy,  assured  me 
that  his  intention  was  not  to  insult  me,  but  these 
were  his  orders ;  and  that  every  one,  even  old 
priests  must  have  a  license  to  read  the  Bible.  But 
he  stated  that  he  would  ask  the  librarian,  and  tell 
him  that  he  knew  me,  and  if  the  librarian  had  no 
objection  he  would  give  me  the  Polyglot  Bible. 
He  did  so,  and  the  librarian  Father  Cipidla,  at 
that  time  also  the  vice  inquisitor,  authorized  him 
to  give  me  any  book,  even  those  which  are  in  the 
Index  (libror.  prohib.)  of  the  forbidden  books. 

These  little  difficulties  augmented  my  desire  to 
read  not  only  the  few  passages  in  Father  Clement, 
but  the  whole  Bible.  On  the  same  day  I  searched 
in  all  the  bookseller  stores  for  a  Bible,  and  bought 
one,  a  translation  from  the  vulgate  by  Martini? 
Arch-bishop  of  Florence.  It  is  impossible  to  des- 
cribe my  feelings,  when  I  found  that  the  passages 
quoted  by  the  Protestant  had  been  faithfully  trans- 
cribed from  the  Bible.  New,  and  almost  unde- 
fineable  ideas  occupied  my  mind.  I  am  so  old? 
and  have  not  known  the  Bible  ?  I  studied  theo- 
logy, read  the  fathers,  and  canons  of  the  different 
councils,  and  not  the  Bible?    Why  should  I  have 


(CONVERSION  OF  THE  AUTHOR.  2? 

a  special  permission  to  read  the  word  of  God  ? 
Why  have  Protestants,  [who  are  considered  here- 
tics] free  access  to  the  Bible  ?  These,  and  many- 
other  excruciating  thoughts  tortured  my  mind.  It 
was  a  problem,  which  I  could  not  solve.  I  felt 
that  there  was  something  wrong ;  but  where,  I 
could  not  find  out.  Haunted  by  these  thoughts  I 
went  to  my  spiritual  adviser,  and  recounted  to  him 
every  thing.  I  was  sincere,  and  that  too  perhaps 
for  the  first  time  since  my  fifteenth  year,  when 
I  first  opened  my  whole  heart  and  troubled  mind 
to  a  confessor*  He  was  astonished  that  such  a 
trifling  thing  should  trouble  me,  as  it  was  nothing 
more  than  temptations  of  the  devil,  to  which  I 
yielded;  He  counseled  me :  to  let  the  Bible 
alone,  as  it  was  too  strong  a  food  for  my  fer* 
vent  imagination.  Then  he  asked  me  :  "  If  I 
had  not  been  in  contact  with  some  heretic?  If 
I  had  given  Father  Clement  to  some  other  per* 
son  to  read  ?  If  I  had  communicated  my  senti- 
ments to  some  of  my  companions?  If  I  had 
been  a  long  time  in  the  possession  of  the  Bible? 
After  having  answered  all  these  questions  in  the 
negative,  he  continued  his  directions.  "  To  give 
no  room  in  my  mind  to  such  heretical  ideas ; 
being  only  Satan,  who  appears  as  an  angel  of 


&8  CONVERSION  OF  THE  AUTHOR  * 

light.  That  I  must  burn  Father  Clement,  ati 
the  sole  cause  of  the  evil.  That  I  should  make 
it  as  a  rule  to  pay  my  morning  and  evening  de- 
votions to  the  ever  blessed  Virgin  Mary.  To  be 
more  exact  in  the  duty  of  saying  the  horx  can- 
enicse  in  the  Breuiary,  fyc.  4'C."1 

I  promised  to  do  all  he  required  me  to  do,  and 
I  did  all,  except  two  things  I  could  not  observe* 
namely  :  to  let  the  Bible  alone  and  to  burn  Father 
Clement. 

After  a  long  and  heart-rending  strugle  with  my- 
self, I  kneeled  before  the  image  of  the  Virgin 
Mary,  and  asked  in  fervent  prayer  the  counsel  of 
the  queen  of  heaven,  [as  I  believed  her  to  be.] 
I  came  to  the  resolution  to  inquire : 

1st*  Whether  the  practices  of  the  church  ol 
Rome  has  been  the  practice  of  the  primitive 
churches  ? 

2nd.  Whether  the  practices  and  doctrines  of  the' 
church  of  Rome  can  be  proved  and  sanctioned  by 
the  authority  of  the  Bible  ?  and 

3rd.  Whether  they  can  be  confirmed  by  the  au- 
thority of  the  Fathers  ? 

lHorse  Canonicas  is  a  certain  task,  which  every  priest 
is  in  duty  bound  to  perform,  by  saying  some  prayers 
in  the  Breuiary  in  the  morning,  and  is  called  :  "Ma- 
tutinae,"  and  in  the  evening  called :  "Vesper,"  and  in 
the  middle  of  the  day,  called  horae. 


CONVERSION  OF  THE  AUTHOR.      29 

Scarcely  had  I  made  the  resolution,  when  I  felt 
as  if  a  burden  had  fallen  from  my  heart.  I  thanked 
the  Holy  Virgin  for  her  wise  counsel,  and  deter- 
mined to  go  to  work  as  soon  as  possible.  Never 
were  the  words  of  the  apostle  Paul  "  to  will  is 
present  with  me,  but  how  to  perform  that  which 
is  good,  I  find  not ;"  more  applicable  than  in  my 
case.  Though  strongly  determined  to  investigate 
the  Scriptures,  still  there  was  an  internal  voice  as 
it  were,  which  whispered  to  my  conscience,  say- 
ing: "What,  inquire  if  the  doctrines  of  the 
church  of  Rome  are  the  same  as  in  the  primitive 
churches  ?  Is  it  not  the  Catholic  and  Apostolic 
church  ?  Who  can  doubt  the  primitive  principles 
and  usages  of  the  Roman  church  ?  What !  in- 
quire whether  the  doctrines  of  the  Catholic  church 
can  be  proved  by  the  Bible  ?  Is  it  not  a  mortal 
sin  to  doubt  the  authenticity  of  the  mother  church, 
which  is  the  only  saving  church  out  of  which 
there  is  no  salvation  ?"  Such  were  the  thoughts 
and  feelings,  which  habit,  prejudice  and  perhaps 
superstition  suggested  to  my  bewildered  mind. 

Father  Clement  being  constantly  upon  my  table, 
I  read  it  over  and  over  again,  so  that  I  knew  it 
nearly  by  heart.  Finally  I  made  a  resolution, 
which  was  in  harmony  with  my  own  conscience, 


30  THE    MASS. 

neither  derogatory  to  reason,  nor  to  the  doctrines 
of  the  church  of  Rome.  A  resolution  of  which 
no  Roman  Catholic,  priest  or  layman  can  be 
ashamed.  It  was  simply  this.  If  the  doctrines 
of  the  church  of  Rome  are  true,  why  should  I 
not  investigate  them,  and  see  if  they  are  really 
based  upon  the  Scriptures,  and  the  usages  of  the 
primitive  churches  ?  In  order  that  my  faith 
might  be  more  fully  established,  and  also  in* 
structed  in  the  Bible.  Are  the  doctrines  of  the 
church  of  Rome  not  based  upon  the  Bible,  and 
if  they  are  contrary  to  the  usages  of  the  primi- 
tive churches,  it  is  necessary  for  my  souls  sal- 
vation to  know  it. 


THE  MASS. 

My  readers  will  bear  in  mind,  that  at  that  time 
I  had  not  been  persuaded  of  the  errors  of  popery, 
nor  had  I  been  in  the  possession  of  the  truth. 
First  I  doubted  and  then  I  inquired ;  therefore  he 
must  not  expect  an  elaborate  theological  disquisi- 
tion upon  the  gospel  truth,  but  only  the  experience 
of  a  sincere  seeker. 

All  the  practices  and  dogmas  of  the  church  of 
Rome,  were  crowded  together  in  my  mind.     The 


THE    MJtiftS,  31 

;  t ran  substantiation ;  auriculir  confes- 
sion: invocation  of  Saints;  veneration  of  im- 
snages  :  adoration  of  relics  ;  purgatovy  and  in 
diligences;  infallibility  of  the  Pope,;,  and  the 
Inquisition,  §'C.  All  these  presented  themselves  at 
■once  tc  my  mind,  and  I  scarcely  knew  where  to 
begin.  But  as  the  Mass  is  a  precept  of  the  church, 
and  an  injunction  to  every  member:  "to  hear  the 
sacred  office  of  the  Mass  on  festival  days"  it 
was  the  first  subject  of  investigation  on  Scriptural 
grounds,  and  also  whether  it  was  the  usage  of  the 
primitive  churches  ?  In  my  investigation  I  neg- 
lected nothing;  I  read  the  fathers,  canons,  and 
searched  diligently  the  Scriptures  to  support  it; 
for  my  desire  was  not  to  find  errors,  but  to 
strenghten  my  faith  in  the  doctrines  of  the  church 
of  Rome. 

"  The  Mass  [as  I  had  been  taught]  is  a  sacri- 
fice of  external  oblation  of  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ,  through  the  forms  of  bread  and  wine,  sen- 
sibly exhibited  by  a  legitimate  minister,  offered  to 
God  in  recognition  of  his  supreme  dominion,  with 
the  use  of  eertain  prayers  and  ceremonies  pres- 
cribed by  the  church  for  the  better  worship  of 
God  and  edification  of  the  people."  As  the  es- 
ished  doctrine  of  the  church  of  Rome,  it  is 


32  THE   MASS* 

supported  by  all  theologians.1  The  council  cf 
Trent  is  equally  decided  on  the  subject.2  "  Who- 
soever shall  say,  that  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  is 
merely  an  offering-  of  praise  and  thanks,  or  a  simr- 
ple  commemoration  of  the  sacrifice  performed  on 
the  cross-  and  not  propitiatory;  or  that  it  is  of 
benefit  only  to  the  recipient ;  and  that  it  ought  not 
to  be  offered  for  the  living  and  the  dead  for  sins, 
penances,  satisfactions,  and  other  necessities ;  let 
him  be  accursed." 

The  ceremo?iies,  which  form  a  part  of  the  sac- 
rifice I  had  as  a  matter  of  necessity  investigated. 
Before  that,  I  performed  them  mechanically,  not' 
even  thinking  of  their  signification  ;  but  how  was 
I  disappointed,  when  I  found  that  those  ceremo- 
nies are  not  more  related  with  the  things  of  which 
they  should  be  emblematic,  than  rny  readers  are 
related  with  the  man  in  the  moon.  I  shall  give 
a.  short  description  of  the  vestment  and  evolutions 
of  the  mass,  and  the  reader  will  see  that  there  are 
many  acts  and  ceremonies,  which  have  no  signi- 
fication at  all. 

*BeIarminode  Miss;csacrificio,lib.  l.—-Snarez  Dk 
quisitio  de  Missse  celeferancfo. 

2Concil  Tredent,  Sessio  22,  can.  St 


THE    MASS.  S3 

"  The  priest,  who  officiates,1  shall  cover  his 
head  with  an  amice,  (a  white  towel,)  which  sig- 
nifies the  veil  that  the  Jews  put  on  Christ;  then 
over  his  own  clothing  an  alb,  (a  white  linen  shirt,) 
which  betokens  a  garment  of  that  color,  which 
Herod  is  said  to  have  put  upon  Christ.  The  gir- 
dle, signifying  the  cord  with  which  our  Saviour 
was  bound  in  the  garden;  next  he  puts  on  a  stole 
about  his  neck,  as  an  emblem  of  the  cord  with 
which  Christ  was  led  to  execution ;  then  comes 
the  manipulum  on  his  left  hand,  in  allusion  to 
the  cord  with  which  Christ  was  bound  to  the  pil- 
lar when  scourged;  over  all  these  a  very  rich, 
with  gold  embroidered  vestment,  which  hangs  be- 
hind and  before  in  a  curious  manner,  and  is  call- 
ed pivialis,  significant  of  the  purple  garment 
with  which  the  Jews  clothed  our  Saviour.  The 
altar  represents  the  cross,  the  cup,  the  sepulchre 
of  the  Saviour,  the  patina,  or  cover  of  the  cup, 
the  stone  on  the  grave ;  the  lighted  candle, 
the  light  of  Christ.  Then  follow,  the  prostra- 
tions, and  genuflections,  the  boy  and  the  little 
bell;  the  numerous  bowings,  turnings  and  facings, 
kissings  and  crossings.  The  drinking  of  all  the 
wine  and  the  asking  for  more;  the  drying  of  the 

'Missal.  Rom.  Rubrica, 


34 


THE    MASS. 


cup  with  a  white  handkerchief  as  a  sign  that  he 
drank  all  of  it;  all  these  things  puzzled  my 
mind.  I  searched  the  Bible  in  order  to  find  a 
chapter  in  which  the  mass,  which  our  Lord  Je- 
sus Christ  said,  is  described.  I  expected  to 
find  a  description  of  the  sacred  vestments; 
the  exact  command  of  all  the  evolutions  and  in- 
tricate gesticulations  of  the  celebrator  of  the 
mass.  Unhappily  I  found  not  only  nothing  of  all 
these  things,  but  quite  the  contrary.  I  compared 
the  missal  with  the  Bible,  and  the  following  was 
the  result  of  my  research. 


The  Church  of  Rome. 
"  I  further  profess  that 
in  the  mass  is  ottered  to 
God  a  true,  proper,  and 
propitiatory  sacrifice  for 
the  living  and  dead." — 
Creed  Pius.  iv. 


"  The  mass  is  a  sacri- 
fice not  accompanied 
with  shedding  of  blood." 


The  Bible. 

"The  blood  of  Christ 
cleanseth  from  all  sin.' 
Epist.  I.  John  c.  i.  v.  7. 

"Behold  the  lamb  of 
God  that  taketh  away 
the  sins  of  the  world." 
Gospel  of  John,  chap.  i. 
v.  29. 


The  mass   is   offered 
by  sinful  priests. 


"Without  shedding  of 
blood  is  no  remission  of 
sins."  Epist.  Heb.  c. 
vii.  v.  27. 


"  Christ  offered  up 
himself,"  Ep.  to  Heb. 
c.  vii.  v.  27,  "to  put  away 
sin  by  the  sacrifice  of 
himself."  Ep.  to  Heb. 
c.  ix.  v.  26. 


THE    MASS. 


35 


The  Church  of  Rome. 

"The  mass  is  often 
repeated,  for  the  living1, 
and  dead."  Cone.  Trid. 
Can.  3 


The  priest  needs  dai- 
ly to  offer  up  sacrifice, 
first  for  his  own  sins, 
then  for  the  people. 

Ritus  missal.  Roman. 


"The  day  before  our 
Lord  suffered,  he  took 
bread  into  his  holy  and 
adorable  hands,  and  lift- 
ing up  his  eyes  to  heav- 
en, to  God,  and  giving 
thanks,  he  blessed  (there 
the  priest  crosses,  and 
re-crosses  the  wafer,) 
brake  and  gave  to  his 
disciples,  (then  the  ma- 
neuver begins;  the  hos- 
tia  is  broken  in  two 
pieces  upon  the  patina, 


The  Bible. 

"Christ  was  once  of- 
fered to  bear  the  sins  of 
many."  Ep.  Heb.  c.  ix. 
v.  28. 

"By  one  offering  he 
had  perfected  for  ever 
them  that  are  sancti- 
fied."   Heb.  c.  x.  v.  14. 


"Sueh  an  high  priest 
became  us,  who  is  holy, 
harmless,  undefiled,  and 
separate  from  sinners, 
and  made  higher  than 
the  heavens,  who  need- 
eth  not  as  those  high 
priests  to  offer  up  sacri- 
fice first  for  his  own 
sins,  and  then  for  the 
people."  Ep.  Heb.  c. 
vii.  v.  26. 

"And  as  they  were 
eating,  Jesus  took  bread 
and  blessed  it,  and  brake 
it,  and  gave  it  to  the  dis- 
ciples, and  said  :  Take, 
eat;  this  is  my  body. 

"And  he  took  the  cup 
and  gave  thanks,  and 
gave  it  to  them,  saying, 
Drink  ye  all  of  it,  for 
this  is  my  blood  of  the 
New  Testament,  which 
is  shed  for  many  for  the 
remission  of  sins."  Mat, 


36 


THE    MASS. 


The  Church  of  Rome. 

the  towl  of  the  altar 
scraped  ivith  it,  in  case 
a  particle  should  have 
fallen  upon  the  altar, 
again  a  genuflection, 
the  bell  sounds,  the  peo- 
ple fall  upan  their  knees, 
strike  their  breasts, 
pray,  and  worship  the 
hostia )  saying:  "take  ye 
all  of  this,  for  it  is  my 
body." 

(In  the  mean  time 
ivhile  that  maneuver 
goes  on,  the  hostia  is 
transubstantiated  in  the 
blood,  body,  soul,  and 
divinity  of  Jesus  Christ, 
or  in  more  intelligible 
words,  the  morsel  of 
bread  is  instantaneous- 
ly changed  into  the  Re- 
deemer of  the  world; 
then  he  crosses  on  the 
bottom  of  the  cup  and 
also  on  the  brim  of  it, 
and  taking  it  in  his 
hand,  he  breathes  on  it, 
and  utters  the  rest  in 
the  same  low  voice,  viz. 
"In  like  manner  after 
supper  he  took  this  no- 
ble calice  into  his  holy 
and  adorable  hands,  and 
after  thanks  to  the  Fath- 
er, he  blessed,  (there  he 


The  Bible. 

c.  xxvi.  v.  26—28;  Mark 
c.  xiv.  v.  22,  23 ;  Luke 
c.  xxii.  v.  19,  20;  Ep 
of  1  Cor.  c.  xi.  v.  23, 

&c. 


THE    MASS. 


37 


The  Church  of  Rome.  The  Bible. 

crosses  again)  and  gave 
it  to  his  disciples,  say- 
ing, Take  YE,  AXD  DRINK 
YOU     ALL     OF     THIS,    for 

this  is  the  cup  of  my 
blood,  a  new  and  ever- 
lasting testament,  a  mys- 
tery of  faith,  which  shall 
be  shed  for  you,  and  for 
many,  for  the  remission 
of  sins,  so  oft  as  you  do 
this,  you  shall  do  it  in 
remembrance  of  me" — 
(Then  raising  the  cup 
over  his  head  that  the 
people  may  likewise 
worship  it,  he  kneels 
upon  his  knees,  and 
without  touching  any- 
thing with  the  fingers 
which  touched  the  body, 
blood,  soul  and  divinity 
of  Jesus  Christ,  he  kis- 
ses with  outstretched 
arms  the  altar,  eats  the 
hostia  and  drinks  all  the 
Wine,  asks  for  more, 
says  some  other  prayers 
and  Christ  is  eaten  up, 
and  the  people  dismissed. 

Who  can  imagine  my  feelings  at  the  disappoint 

ment;  the  words  of  the  consecration  not  only  ma- 

-Miciously  altered,  but  also  ignorantly  applied,  by 

saying,  "drink  ye  all  of  it,"  alluding  to  the  wine 

4 


38  THE   MASS. 

instead  of  to  the  apostles,  drink  ye  all  the  wine  Of 
it,  and  the  word  shed,  applying  to  the  New  Tes- 
tament, instead  of  to  the  blood  of  Christ,  is  absurd 
and  laughable  even  to  a  beginner  of  the  Greek 
language  ;  people  who  have  Calmet  and  other  ex- 
pounders of  the  Scriptures,  who  teach  the  Greek 
in  schools,  should  they  not  know  that  &*.Hx* 
(testament)  is  feminine,  and  ^a  (blood)  is  neu- 
tre  gender  ?  It  is  impossible,  it  must  be  a  wilful 
and  deliberate  deception.  In  addition  to  that,  I 
found  no  sacred  vestment ;  no  crossings  ;  no  evo 
lutions  whatever ;  no  breathing  on  the  cup ;  no 
mass  in  the  Bible ;  whom  should  I  believe,  the 
Bible  or  the  church  of  Rome  ?— certainly  the  Bi 
ble.  My  Roman  Catholic  brethren  see,  that  it  is 
not  the  spirit  of  Protestantism,  or  criticism,  which 
induces  me  to  write,  but  to  call  forth  a  spirit  of 
investigation  from  the  hearts  of  my  dear  Roman 
Catholic  friends,  is  the  only  object. 

Though  disappointed  in  my  expectations,  though 
the  Bible  contradicted  the  councils  and  the  whole 
church,  still  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  make  up 
my  mind,  and  to  decide  against  the  church.  There- 
fore I  continued  the  investigation  with  regard  to 
the  prayers,  being  an  essential  part  of  the  mass ; 
in  the  hope  that  the  church  and  the  Bible  would 
in  that  point  agree.     Here  is  the  result  of  it. 


THE    MASS, 


30 


The  Church  of  Rome. 

The  priest  begins  the  mass 
with  confiteor,  &e. 

"I  confess  to  Almighty 
Cod,  to  blessed  Virgin 
Mary,  ever  virgin,  to 
blessed  Michael,  the 
arch-angel,  to  blessed 
John  the  Baptist,  &c, 
(and  to  you  Father.") 
Ordiri  of  the  mass. 


After  the  introit,  and 
the  Eyrie  Eleison  he  of- 
fers the  following  pray- 
er: 

"We  beseech  thee  O 
Lord,  by  the  merits  of 
thy  saints,  whose  relics 
are  here,  and  of  all  the 
saints,  that  thou  would'st 
vouchsafe  to  forgive  me 
all  my  sins." 


At  the  oblation  of  the 
host,  he  prays : 

"Accept,  O,  Holy  Fa- 
ther, Almighty  and  eter- 
nal God,  this  unspotted 
host  which  I,  thy  un- 
worthy servant  offer  un- 
to thee,  my  living  and 
true  God,  for  my  innu- 
merable sins,"  &c. 


The  Bible. 


4 'Against  thee,  thee 
only  have  I  sinned,  and 
done  this  evil  in  thy 
sight."  Ps.  li.  v.  4. 

"Christ  is  able  to  save 
them  to  the  uttermost, 
that  come  unto  God  by 
him,  seeing  he  ever  liv- 
eth  to  make  intercession 
for  them."  Ep.  to  Heb. 
c.  vii.  v.  25. 


"There  is  none  righti- 
ous,  no  not  one."  Ep, 
Romans  c.  iii.  v.  10. 

The  blood  of  Christ 
cleanseth  fiom  all  sin." 
Ep.  1  John  c.  i.  v.  7. 


But  this  man  (Christ) 
after  he  had  offered  one 
sacrifice  for  sins,  for  ev- 
er, sat  down  on  the  right 
hand  of  God."  Epist. 
Heb.  c.  x.  v.  20. 

"Christ  was  once  of- 
fered to  bear  the  sins  of 
many."  Ep.  Heb.  c.  ix. 
v.  28. 


40 


Tlifc   MAtifo 


The  Church  of  Home. 

•Commemoration  of  the 
dead. 

"Be  mindful,  0  Lord, 
of  thy  servants  who  are 
gone  before  us  with  the 
sign  of  faith,  and  rest 
in  sleep  of  peace.  To 
these,  O  Lord,  and  to 
all  that  sleep  in  Christ, 
grant  we  beseech  thee  a 
place  of  refreshment, 
light  and  peace." 

"Lamb  of  God,  that 
taketh  away  the  sins  of 
the  world,  give  them 
eternal  rest."  Canon  of 
the  mass. 


St.  Peter's  Chair. 

"O  Lord,  who  by  de- 
livering to  the  blessed 
apostle  Peter  the  keys 
of  the  kingdom  of  hea- 
ven, didst  give  hinrthe 
power  of  binding  and 
loosing,  grant  that  by 
his  intercession,  we  may 
he  freed  from  the  bonds 
of  our  sins."  Missal. 
Roman. 


The  Bible, 

"Neither  have  they 
(the  dead)  any  more  a 
portion  forever  in  any 
thing  that  is  done  (in 
prayers,  or  in  Masses, 
&c.)  under  the  sun." — ■ 
Eccles.  c.  ix.  v.  6. 

"Blessed  are  the  dead 
that  die  in  the  Lord 
from  henceforth.  Yea, 
with  the  spirit,  that  they 
may  rest  from  their  la- 
bors." Rev.  ^c.  xiv.  v. 
13* 


"Neither  is  there  sal- 
vation in  any  other  (but 
Christ,)  for  there  is  none 
other  name  under  hea- 
ven given  among  men 
whereby  we  must  be 
saved."  Acts  c,  iv.  v, 
12.       . 


Having  found  no  passage  in  the  Bible  to  sup- 
port even  the  prayers  of  the  mass,  my  faith  be- 


THE    MASS.  41 

gat  to  shake;  my  confidence  in  the  sincerity  of 
the  church  to  diminish,  and  suspicion  against 
spiritual  tyranny  awakened  in  my  bosom.  Now 
I  know  the  reason  why  the  reading  of  the  Bible 
is  forbidden,  was  the  language  of  my  heart,  that 
the  deception  of  priests  might  not  be  detected. 
My  partiality  to  the  church,  and  my  prejudices 
lessened  every  day,  and  I  became  a  more  impar- 
tial inquirer  after  the  truth  of  the  gospel.  So  I 
could  soon  discern  that  the  mass  was  not  an  in- 
stitution of  the  primitive  churches,  but  a  priestly 
fabrication  of  the  Later  an  Council  in  the  year 
1214,  and  afterwards  sealed  with  the  thousand 
anathemas  in  the  council  of  Trent.  I  evidently 
saw  that  if  that  doctrine  had  been  the  doctrine 
of  the  primitive  churches,  would  the  council  of 
Trent  have  been  obliged  to  introduce  it  with  so 
it  any  "  Let  him  be  accursed?"  Soon  I  discov- 
ered the  shameful  perversion  of  the  Holy  Bible, 
and  the  privation  of  the  greatest  of  all  privileges, 
the  cup  which  the  Lord  gave  to  his  disciples. 

The  consequence  of  all  this  was  awful,  I  had 
no  faith  in  the  authority,  and  infallibility  of  the 
church ;  no  confidence  in  the  priests,  but  looked 
on  them  as  spiritual  tyrants.  I  became  dissatis- 
fied with  myself  for  having  been  so  ignorant,  and 


42  THE    MASS. 

superstitions,  that  I  for  so  long  a  time,  believed  g 
lie.  The  Scriptures  I  believed  to  be  the  inspired 
word  of  God,  bat  it  was  a  dead  letter  for  me  ;  I 
read  the  Scriptures  not  to  edify  myself,  or  to  ap^ 
ply  it  to-  the  state  of  my  sinful  heart,  and  troubled 
soul,  but  to  find  out  the  anti-biblical  doctrines, 
and  other  anti-scriptural  practices  of  the  church 
of  Rome ;  and  after  I  had  found  new  errors,  I 
felt  happy.  In  one  word  1  was  no  Roman  Cath- 
olic in  heart,  nor  a  real  believer  in  the  gospel  of 
Christ;  I  was  more  a  negative  Deist,  than  a  true 
Christian. 

What  was  my  surprise,  when  I  made  known 
my  thoughts  to  some  priests,  my  intimate  friends, 
to  find  that  they  were  rank  infidels.  With  the 
Scriptures  they  were  unacquainted ;  the  doctrines 
of  the  church  they  considered  as  human  fabrica- 
tions ;  and  the  ceremonies  as  forms  without  the 
spirit  of  godliness.  They  mocked  at  and  ridicu- 
led things  most  sacred  in  the  eye  of  a  devoted  pa- 
pist; they  laughed  at  the  ignorance  of  the  poor 
and  deluded  people,  and  often  expressed  contempt, 
even  hatred  against  the  spiritual  tyrants.  Such 
instances  I  witnessed  many  times.  In  Rome  all 
is  appearance  and  hypocrisy.  But  as  soon  as  the 
heart   can  find    another    sincere   heart,  then  the 


THE    MASS.  43 

mask  of  appearance  is  thrown  off,  and  in  lamen- 
tations pours  its  sorrows  into  the  bosom  of  the 
friend.  In  secret  we  sigh,  and  in  public  we  are 
obliged  to  feast.  But  if  the  providence  of  God 
would  deliver  Italy  from  its  temporal  and  spiritu- 
al bondage,  the  priests  of  Rome  would  be  the 
first  in  the  rank  to  defend  the  liberty  of  con- 
science, and  that  of  the  press,  Voltaire,  Rousseau, 
Macchiavelli,  the  novels  of  Boccaccio,  Casti  and 
other  unchaste  productions  are  constantly  cherish- 
ed as  food  for  the  passions  of  the  Priest's  heart, 
and  when  among  themselves  these  are  the  sub- 
jects of  pleasing  conversation.  To  say,  "The 
Signora  such  and  such  a  one,  is  the  amorosa  of 
such  a  cardinal,  or  such  a  prelate  is  the  cicisbeo, 
or  lover  of  such,  or  such  a  lady.  The  priest  so 
and  so  has  two  beautiful  married  sisters,  he  will 
soon  become  a  canon,"  it  is  not  very  rare  to  hear, 
even  in  the  presence  of  ladies.  I  found  the  ma- 
jority of  the  young  priests  negative  infidels,  or 
real  sceptics  ;  immoral  in  their  hearts,  filthy  with 
their  tongues  and  hypocrites  in  appearance.  That 
under  such  friends  and  companions,  my  christian 
progress  was  not  very  rapid,  is  not  to  be  won- 
dered at. 


TRANSUBSTANTIATION. 

Transubstantiation  is  the  principle  transaction 
of  the  priest  in  the  so  called  propitiatory  sacrifice 
of  the  mass.  I  will  not  give  my  readers  a  disser- 
tation on  that  important  subject,  nor  the  opinion 
which  I  now  entertain  of  it,  or  make  a  display  of 
Biblical  knowledge,  which  I  have  acquired  since 
that  time.  I  will  only  give  a  candid  description 
of  my  feelings,  when  I  at  first  begun  to  investi- 
gate the  doctrines  of  the  church  of  Rome,  in  the 
light  of  the  Bible. 

I  had  been  taught,  that:  "  in  the  most  holy  sa- 
crament of  the  Eucharist,  there  is  truly,  really, 
and  substantially  the  body  and  blood,  together 
with  the  soul,  and  divinity  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  That  the  bread  and  wine  are  immediately 
changed  into  his  body  and  blood,  without  any 
outward  appearance  of  this  change,  which  we 
only  know  by  faith.  Though  we  see  only  bread 
and  wine  as  before,  we  firmly  believe  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  there  in  a  miraculous  manner,  whole 
and  entire  under  each  of  the  two  species,  and  un- 
der every  particle,  as  under  the   whole  without 


TRANSUBSTANTIATION.  45 

being  multiplied  and  without  ceasing  to  be  in 
heaven."     Creed  of  Pius  the  IV. 

I  searched  the  whole  New  Testament,  but  found 
not  an  idea,  not  even  an  indication  of  any  thing 
which  would  suggest  the  least  thought  of  such  an 
extraordinary  change  in  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper. 

The  only  passage  which  I  found  in  my  Bible, 
and  upon  which  the  whole  fabric  of  transubstan- 
tiation  is  built,  is  the  expression  of  our  Saviour 
iu  the  institution;  saying:  "  Take,  eat,  this  is  my 
body  ;"  and  giving  the  cup,  saying :  "  This  is  my 
blood."  Our  Lord  has  not  said,  this  represents 
my  body  and  blood,  but  this  is  really  and  actually 
my  body  and  blood. 

I  thought  it  absurd  to  take  that  passage  literally 
and  others  spiritually  ;  when  every  man  of  good 
sense,  who  possesses  only  the  least  knowledge 
of  the  Oriental  languages,  knows  that  figurative 
speech  is  common  among  them  ;  and  that  the  dis- 
ciples understood  it  in  the  same  figurative  way. 
When  Joseph  was  interpreting  the  dream  of  the 
chief  butler  and  the  baker  in  the  prison,  he  told 
them  :  "the  three  branches  of  the  vine  are  three 
days,  and  the  three  baskets  are  three  days." 
They  did  not  understand  that  the  branches  and  the 


46  TRANSUBSTANTIATION. 

baskets  were  really,  actually  and  truly  clays  of 
twenty-four  hours,  but  that  they  represented  them. 
And  when  he  interpreted  the  dream  of  Pharaoh 
he  said :  "  the  seven  kine  are  seven  years."  Pha- 
raoh never  thought  that  they  are  really,  truly 
years,  but  that  they  represent  the  seven  years. 
Daniel,  when  he  interpreted  the  dream  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, said:  "  Thou  [O  King]  art  this  head 
of  gold"  He  meant  not  that  the  king  is  really, 
truly,  and  actually  transubstantiated  into  a  head  of 
gold,  and  the  same  time  had  the  figure  of  a  man, 
but  that  the  head  of  gold  represents  the  king. 
Even  in  our  phrasiology,  when  an  instructor 
teaches  his  pupils  geography,  he  shows  them  a 
map,  and  says  :  "  that  is  the  State  of  New  York, 
he  does  not  mean  that  this  is  truly,  really,  and  ac- 
tually transubstantiated  into  the  State  of  New 
York,  but  that  it  represents  it.  Without  multi- 
plying the  examples,  I  found  that  our  Saviour 
used  in  many  instances  a  figurative  language,  say- 
ing :  "  /  am  the  way  ;  I  am  the  door ;  /  am  the 
vine."  He  never  thought  to  convey  the  idea,  to  be 
really  and  truly  transubstantiated  into  a  vine,  or 
door,  but  that  he  represents  it. 

My  mind  was  deeply  impressed  at  that  time 
with  some  passages  of  the  Scripture,  Matt.  chap. 


TRANSUBSTANTIATION.  47 

5,  v.  28 — 30.  "  I  say  unto  you.  That  whoso- 
ever looketh  on  a  woman  to  lust  after  her,  hath 
committed  adultery  with  her  already  in  his  heart. 
And  if  thy  right  eye  offend  thee  pluck  it  out,  and 
cast  it  from  thee,  for  it  is  profitable  for  thee,  that 
one  of  thy  members  should  perish,  and  not  that 
thy  whole  body  should  be  cast  into  hell.  And  if 
thy  right  hand  offend  thee,  cut  it  off,  and  cast  it 
from  thee,  <fcc."  If  one  passage  is  to  be  taken 
literally  and  not  figuratively,  all  of  them  ought  to 
be  taken  in  the  same  sense.  "  If  thy  right  eye 
offend  thee  pluck  it  out;  if  thy  right  hand  offend 
thee,  cut  it  off,  and  cast  it  from  thee,  &c."  It 
struck  me  if  these  passages  should  be'  taken  liter- 
ally too,  all  the  Popes,  Cardinals  and  Confessors 
of  Rome,  would  certainly  go  to  heaven  with  one 
eye,  and  without  a  right  arm. 

Having  found  no  substantial  proof  in  the  Bible 
to  support  such  a  doctrine,  I  took  my  refuge  to 
reason.  I  asked  what  is  taught  in  that  article  of 
faith  ? 

1st.  That  the  wafer  is  changed  into  the  body, 
soul,  and  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  still  it  re- 
mains in  every  respect  a  wafer.  I  reasoned  with 
myself  in  the  following  manner;  that  God  can 
change  one  substance  into  another  substance  is  no 


48  TRANSUBSTANTIATION. 

doubt  true,  bat  that  it  should  be  in  the  same  time 
changed,  and  entirely  unchanged,  is  an  absurdity- 
above  all  absurdities  ;  what  would  the  Pope  say 
if  Protestants  would  teach  that  Lot's  wife,  who 
was  changed  into  a  pillar  of  salt,  that  she  stopped 
there  and  in  the  same  time  remained  a  living  wo- 
man, continuing  her  way  with  her  husband  and 
still  being  salt.  Would  the  Pope  not  justly  say, 
the  Protestants  are  crazy  ?  and  still  that  would 
only  be  a  matter  of  opinion,  it  would  not  involve 
an  article  of  faith  as  transubstantiation  does. 
Have  the  Protestants  not  the  same  right  in  their 
turn  to  call  us  infidels,  by  putting  forth  such  an 
arch-absurcfity  as  an  article  of  faith? 

2nd.  We  must  deny  the  testimony  of  our  own 
senses;  we  see,  smell,  and  taste  the  wafer,  yet 
we  must  believe  it  to  be  the  flesh  and  blood,  soul 
and  divinity  of  Christ.  And  vice  versa:  we  eat 
and  drink  the  body,  blood,  soul  and  divinity  of 
Jesus  Christ,  though  we  see  and  taste  a  wafer. 
That  was  really  too  strong  food  for  my  weak 
faith  and  too  puzzling  for  my  ordinary  talents,  I 
left  therefore  the  enigma  untouched. 

3rd.  That,  when  Christ  said :  "  This  is  my 
body,"  we  must  believe,  that  he  held  his  own 
body  in  his  own  hand,  and  yet  had  not  two  bodies 


TRANSUBSTANTIATION.  49 

©I  two  right  hands,  but  only  one  body  and  one 
right  hand;  and  that  his  body  was  visible  and  in- 
visible at  the  same  moment.  I  could  not  compre- 
hend it,  and  even  now,  I  defy  Ignazio  Lojola  to 
be  able  to  shed  a  ray  of  light  upon  that  chaotic 
darkness. 

4th.  We  must  believe  that  each  of  the  tivelve 
apostles  in  succession,  really,  truly,  and  substan- 
tially eat  their  Lord  and  master,  who  was  visibly 
reposing  at  the  supper  table  before  them,  without 
visibly  entering  into  their  mouths,  but  the  bread 
only  or  the  appearance  of  the  bread,  which  they 
held  in  their  hands,  being  visibly  and  in  the  same 
time  apparently  eaten  by  them.  That  was  a  laby- 
rinth out  of  which  none  but  God  could  guide  me. 

To  believe  such  arch  absurdities  one  must  in- 
deed have  great  faith. 

After  all  this  it  struck  me  that  transubstantiation 
was  not  known  in  the  primitive  churches.  Many 
reasons  led  me  to  this  conclusion,  of  which  my 
mind  was  easily  persuaded  by  the  following  proofs. 

1st.  The  advantages  which  the  first  christians 
had  over  the  heathen  by  reproving  them  :  "  That 
their  Gods  have  eyes  and  see  not,  ears  and  hear 
not,  mouths  and  speak  not,"  is  an  evidence  that 
they  knew  nothing  of  transubstantiation.  Is  it 
5 


50  TRANSUBSTANTIATION. 

probable,  that  people  who  reproach  the  heathen  of 
such  an  absurd  idolatry,  will  worship  a  wafer  in 
the  shape  of  the  real  body,  soul  and  divinity  of 
Christ  ?  Would  the  heathen  not  have  retorted  the 
argument  by  saying :  "  your  God  is  subject  to  the 
same  vicisitudes  as  ours  ?  He  can  decay,  he  can 
be  carried  away  by  the  wind ;  he  can  be  stolen  or 
be  consumed  by  the  flames.  Moreover,  your  God 
is  shut  up  in  a  little  box,  which  priests  carry  in 
their  pockets.  As  it  was  really  the  case  in  Paris 
in  the  church  of  St.  Sulpice,  where  the  golden 
box,  in  which  the  consecrated  wafers  were  pre- 
served, was  stolen,  and  the  body,  blood,  and  soul, 
and  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ  with  it.  To  strength- 
en the  argument  of  the  heathen,  we  find  in  the 
mass-book  the  rules,  how  the  priests  shall  act,  if 
the  hostia  should  fall  on  the  ground,  or  the  priest 
should  vomit  it  out ;  or  should  be  eaten  by  a 
mouse,  &c.  St.  Thomas  d'  Aquinas,  the  Seraphic 
Father,  treats  on  the  same  subject.1  Could  a  Ro- 
man theologian,  who  maintains  such  doctrines,  in 
the  face  of  such  facts  reproach  the  heathen  for 
idolatry,  that  their  Gods  cannot  move  and  are  sub- 
ject to  destruction,  as  the  primitive  christians  did  ? 
What  astonished  me  more  was,  that  in  the  face  of 

'Thorn,  d'  Acquinas,  lib.  3,  quest.  77,  art.  4. 


ttUS'StlBSfANttA'TION.  51 

the  numerous  historical  facts,  which  are  known 
to  every  Roman  Catholic*  the  scandal  and  horrible 
acts  committed  through  the  sacrament  of  the  Eu- 
charist, [as  the  death  of  Pope  Victor  the  3d*  who 
was  poisoned  with  the  cup.  The  Emperor  Henry 
the  VII.  with  a  hostia.  The  Arch-bishop  of  York* 
Who  had  the  same  doom  in  the  year  1154,]  they 
can  still  believe  in  and  adore  it. 

2nd.  Another  proof  that  transubstantiation  was 
Unknown  in  the  primitive  age*  I  deduced  from  the 
fathers  against  the  heretics  of  their  time,  who  de- 
nied the  assumption  of  the  humanity  of  Christ; 
Tertulius'  says :  "  Jesus  Christ  took  bread  and 
gave  it  his  disciples,  saying*  this  is  my  body,  or 
the  figure  of  my  body ;  if  he  would  not  have 
had  a  real  body,  he  could  not  say,  this  is  my 
body,  for  a  phantom  cannot  be  a  representation 
of  a  body*" 

Ireneus*  says :  "If  that  would  be  true*  that  Christ 
had  not  an  assumed  human  nature,  the  Saviour 
has  not  redeemed  us  with  his  blood,  the  cup  is  not 
the  communion  in  his  blood,  and  the  bread  not  the 
communion  in  his  body  ;  for  blood  can  only  come" 

•Tertul.  adv.  Marc.  lib.  4,  chap.  40,  circa  ann.  215; 
2Iren.  adv.  heretic. 


b%  ABSURDITIES   OF   THE   MASS. 

from  veins,  flesh,  and  other  substances  of  man/? 
If  these  fathers  would  have  believed  in  the  real 
presence  of  Christ  in  the  hostia,  would  they  have 
argued  in  that  way  ?  would  they  not  have  rather 
said :  *«  the  Eucharist  contains  the  body,  blood* 
soul,  and  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ,  consequently 
he  was  not  a  phantom,  because  we  have  his  real 
body  and  blood  in  the  sacrament  ?"     Would  this 
not  have  been  more  convincing  than  to  prove  that 
Jesus  Christ  assumed  humanity,  because  the  sa- 
crament is  a  figure  of  his  body  ?    From  these  and 
other  authorities  I  could  easily  see,  that  transub- 
stantiation  was  not  known  in  the  primitive  church- 
es, and  is  a  new  thing  in   the  church,  being  the 
fruit  of  the  dark  age  of  the  twelfth  century  and 
the  growing  power  of  the  Pope. 


ABSURDITIES  AND  DELUSIONS 

OF  THE  MASS. 

It  is  with  great  reluctance  that  I  bring  forward 
these  charges,  as  I  can  testify  before  God,  that  I 
have  no  pleasure  in  wounding  the  feelings  of  any 
man,  but  faithfulness  to  my  Divine  Master,  and 
love  to  the  souls  of  my  Roman  Catholic  brethren 
constrain  me  to  consider  it  a  necessary  duty. 


ABSURDITIES    OF   THE    MASS.  53 

What  can  be  a  greater  absurdity  than,  that  the 

PRIEST  IS  MADE    SUPERIOR    TO    CHRIST  ?       For    llOt 

only  is  he  made  the  creator  of  the  Son  of  God, 
but  he  is  so,  when  and  where  he  pleases.  It  is 
sufficient  that  the  priest  puts  on  an  alb,  a  stole  and 
a  manipulum  and  repeats  the  words  of  consecra- 
tion over  any  piece  of  bread  and  it  is  changed 
into  the  body,  soul  and  divinity  of  Christ.  And 
as  the  offering  up  of  the  sacrifice  depends  on  the 
intention  of  the  priest,  so  Christ  may  or  may  not 
be  presented  to  God  for  the  living  and  the  dead, 
just  as  the  priest  decides.  Thus,  in  both  points 
of  view,  the  priest  is  made  much  superior  to 
Christ,  and  if  this  is  regarded  as  the  calumny  of 
a  Protestant,  I  will  cite  the  words  of  their  own 
writers.  Thus  Gabriel  Biel,  says,  "  whoever  saw 
anything  like  this  ?  He  that  created  me  (if  I  may 
say  so)  hath  given  me  power  to  create  him,  and 
he  that  hath  created  me  is  created  by  my  means."1 
Hence  he  tells  us  of  the  great  dignity  of  the 
priesthood.  "  Passing  by  the  bands  of  angels, 
let  us  come  to  the  queen  of  heaven  and  lady  of 
the  world.  The  same,  though  in  plenitude  of 
grace,  goes  beyond  all  the  creatures,  yet  she  yields 

'Lect.  de  Missa  (citante  Du  Moulin.) 


54  ABSURDITIES    OF   THE    MASS. 

to  the  hierarchs  of  the  church,  (i.  e.  the  priests,) 
in  the  execution  of  the  mystery  committed  unto 
them."1 

"  Incredible  things  !  (says  Peter  de  Besse,)  but 
yet  true,  that  the  power  of  priests  is  so  great  and 
their  excellency  so  noble,  that  heaven  depends  on 
them.  Joshua  stopped  the  sun,  but  these  stop 
Christ  being  in  heaven,  in  the  midst  of  an  altar. 
The  creature  obeyed  the  first,  but  the  Creator 
obeys  the  last.  The  sun  obeyed  the  one,  and 
Cod  the  others,  as  often  as  they  pronounce  the 
sacred  words."2 

This  indeed  is  very  strange  language  for  the 
ear  of  a  Protestant,  but  the  Roman  Catholics  look 
upon  the  priests  as  something  like  God.  Yea, 
they  refer  to  him  much  more  than  to  the  true 
God. 

Under  this  head  I  will  refer  to  some  of  the  ab- 
surdities of  the  missal  used  by  the  priests,  some 
of  which  I  now  cite. 

"  Si  Hostia  consacrata  despareat,  vel  casu  aliquo 
ut  vento,  aut  miraculo,  vel  ab  aliquo  animali  ac- 
cepta  et  nequeat  reperiri,  tunc  altera  consecretur 
ab  eo  loco  incipiendo  qui,  &c. 

'Fourth  Lesson  upon  the  Canon  of  the  Mass. 
aBesse  chap.  II.  on  the  Royal  Priesthood. 


ABSURDITIES    OF    THE    MASS.  55 

"  If  the  consecrated  host  should  disappear,  eith- 
er by  some  accident,  or  by  the  wind,  or  by  a  mir- 
acle, or  be  taken  by  some  animal,  &c.  cannot  be 
found:  then  let  another  be  consecrated,  begin- 
ning from  the  same  place,"  &c.  Seet.  iii.  7. 

It  is  horrible  even  to  think,  that  such  an  abom- 
inable doctrine  should  be  taught  and  considered 
an  article  of  faith.  That  Christ,  who  is  now  in 
a  glorified  state,  may  be  at  any  time  carried 
about  by  the  winds  of  heaven,  or  even  eaten  up 
■by  some  animaL 

"  Si  musca  vel  aranea,  vel  aliquid  .aliud  cecide- 
rit  in  calieem  ante  consacrationem,  projieiat  vi- 
aum  in  locum  et  aliud  ponat  in  calice,  misccat 
parum  aquae,  offerat  ut  supra  ^t  prorequater  mis- 
sara  ;  si  post  consacrationem  ceciderii  musca  aut 
aliquid  ejusmodi  et  fiat  nausea  sacerdoti,  extrahat 
earn  et  lavet  eum  vino,  finita  missa  cumburat,  et 
*2ombustio  ae  lotio  hujusmodi  in  sacrarum  proji- 
>eiatur..  Si  autera  non  fuerit  ei  nausea,  nee  ul- 
ium  periculum  timeat,  sumat  eum  sanguine." — 
JSccL  x.  5. 

u,  If  a  fly,  or  a  spider,  or  any  other  thing  should 
fall  into  the  cup,  let  him  cast  the  wine  into  a 
proper  place,  and  let  htm  place  some  more  in  the 
cup,  mix  a  little  water,  offer  it  as   before,  and 


56  ABSURDITIES    OF   THE    MASS. 

proceed  with  the  mass.  If  a  fly,  or  any  thing" 
of  this  kind,  should  fall  into  it  after  consecration-, 
and  the  priest  should  feel  a  nausea,  let  him  take 
it  out  and  wash  it  with  wine,  and  the  mass  being 
finished,  let  him  barn  it  and  let  the  ashes  and  re- 
fuse be  cast  into  the  sacristy.  If  however,  he 
does  not  feel  sick,  or  fear  any  danger,  let  him 
take  it  with  the  blood." 

I  will  refrain  from  any  remarks  on  the  above 
section,  they  are  abhorent  to  every  idea  we  have 
of  the  Saviour's  present  exalted  state.  I  bring 
them  only  forward  as  the  melancholy  effects  of 
human  traditions.     I  shall  cite  only  one  more. 

"Si  aliquod  venenatum  contingent  Hostiam 
consacratam,  tunc  alteram  consecret,  et  sumat 
modo-  quo  dictum  est,  et  ilia  servetur  in  tabernac- 
ulo  loco  seperato,  donee  species  eorrum  pantnr 
et  corruptee  deinde  mittantnr  in  sacrarum." 

"If  any  poisoned  thing  should  touch  the  coa- 
secrated  Host,  then  let  him  consecrate  another 
and  let  him  take  it  in  the  same  way  as  was  men- 
tioned ;  and  let  the  former  be  kept  in  a  separate 
place  until  the  species  corrupt  and  so  corrupted., 
let  them  be  cast  in  the  sacristy,"     Sect  x.  7. 

The  priests  themselves  are  ashamed  of  their 
own   articles  of  faith,  for  in  the  Roman  Missal 


DELUSIONS   OF   THE    MASS.  57 

translated  into  English  for  the  use  of  the  laity, 
they  are  altogether  omitted;  and  well  they  might 
be  ashamed  of  such  absurdities. 

Delusion  is  equally  a  fruit  of  the  mass.  If  our 
hopes  of  God's  favor  on  earth  and  of  his  glory 
in  the  world  to  come,  be  placed  on  a  false  found- 
ation, then  we  must  be  deceived,  and  delusion 
alone  can  be  our  portion.  What  benefit  does  a 
Roman  Catholic  derive  from  the  mass  ?  Comfort 
for  their  immortal  souls  and  remission  of  their 
sins,  on  the  ground  that  Christ  has  been  offered 
up  for  their  sins.  The  question  is  whether  this 
be  true  or  false  comfort.  If  the  first,  we  should 
be  sorry  to  deprive  any  of  it ;  but  if  the  latter, 
we  must  say,  "let  no  man  beguile  you."  "  Be 
not  deceived."  With  regard  to  the  remission  of 
sins  through  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass,  we  cannot 
but  believe  that  it  is  a  gross  deception,  because  this 
work  was  finished  eighteen  hundred  years  ago 
upon  the  cross.  Jesus  died  once,  and  he  dieth 
no  more;  and  by  his  death  he  atoned  for  sin,  and 
therefore  the  mass  cannot  be  required.  More- 
over it  is  a  useless  sacrifice,  because  the  priests 
repeat  it  often,  yea  daily,  and  because  it  is  noth- 
ing but  bread  and  wine  and  without  the  shedding 


58  DELUSIONS    OF   THE    MASS. 

of  blood,  which  is  essential  to  a  propitiatory  sac- 
rifice, and  for  all  these  delusions  we  must  pay 
money!  What  merchandize  of  souls  is  this? 
What  a  painful  deception  ! 

Let  Roman  Catholics  seek  comfort  in  the  mass, 
I  am  satisfied  with  the  glories  of  calvary.  Let 
them  bow  down  and  adore  the  wafer  raised  by 
the  priests;  I  will  cling  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
who  died  on  the  cross.  Let  papists  trust  in  the 
daily  repeated  sacrifice  of  the  mass  for  the  remis- 
sion of  their  sins ;  I  am  content  with  the  finish- 
ed work  and  the  all  prevailing  intercession  of  Je- 
sus Christ  sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father. 
Thither  I  will  go  for  comfort,  he  shall  be  my  hope 
in  life  and  in  death  ;  in  him  I  shall  not  be  disap- 
pointed, for  his  blood  is  most  precious,  and  clenn- 
seth  from  all  sin.  The  name  of  Jesus  shall  be 
my  strong  tower,  and  in  it  I  shall  find  safety. — 
Let  Roman  Catholics  fly  to  their  queen  of  heav- 
en, the  Virgin  Mary ;  I  will  fly  to  the  rock,  Je- 
sus Christ,  the  only  anchor  of  my  hope,  and  then 
I  shall  be  enabled  to  sing  with  all  the  redeemed, 

"  Jesus  thy  blood  and  righteousness, 
My  beauty  are,  my  glorious  dress, 
'Midst  flaming  worlds  in  thee  arrayed, 
With  joy  shall  I  lift  up  my  head." 


HEATHEN   ROME   AND    PAPAL  ROME. 

After  this  result  of  my  Biblical  researches  as 
detailed  in  the  preceding  chapter,  my  eyes  were 
opened ;  my  mind  became  unbiased,  I  celebrated 
the  Mass  because  it  was  a  source  of  income,  I 
considered  the  Breviary  a  humbug  and  never  re- 
peated it ;  I  practiced  every  form  because  I  was 
obliged  to  do  it ;  in  one  word  I  did  as  others  did. 
Every  ecclesiastical  event  which  I  considered  be- 
fore as  a  matter  of  established  rule  in  the  church, 
became  now  a  subject  of  doubt  and  investigation; 
every  day  1  detected  new  corruptions  ;  in  the  sa- 
cred college  I  saw  spiritual  tyrants  and  in  every 
priest  a  spy  whom  I  dreaded  and  fled  as  from  a 
pest.  Whenever  an  opportunity  was  offered  I 
opened  my  mind  to  some  friend,  who  felt  the  pa- 
pal yoke  as  heavy  as  myself;  but  of  what  use? 
the  evil  was  without  a  remedy,  a  word,  a  sigh  is 
a  mortal  sin,  and  the  result  would  be  fatal  to  my 
future  happiness.  The  reading  of  the  Bible  was 
no  consolation  for  me,  I  read  it  to  my  own  dam- 
nation, for  I  read  it  without  prayer,  without  self- 


60  THE    PANTHEON. 

examination.  As  my  intention  is  to  institute  a 
comparison  between  heathen  Rome  and  papal 
Rome,  I  will  at  once  proceed. 

The  Pantheon  is  one  of  the  oldest  churches 
and  of  the  most  classical  architecture  in  the  city 
of  Rome.  In  the  time  of  heathen  Rome  it  was  a 
temple  dedicated  to  all  the  Gods.  Papal  Rome 
has  dedicated  it  to  no  God  at  all,  but  to  the  Virgin 
Mary  only.  The  niches  of  that  church  in  the 
time  of  heathen  Rome  were  filled  with  the  finest 
bronze  statues,  which  represented  [the  Dii  ma- 
jores]  the  chief  gods.  Papal  Rome  turned  them 
out,  and  placed  tutelar  gods  in  their  places,  as 
St.  Peter,  John  and  James,  &c.  Heathen  Rome 
filled  the  niches  of  their  temples  with  bronze 
gods,  papal  Rome  with  wooden  saints. 

The  reader  will  be  curious  to  know  what  papal 
Rome  did  with  these  idols  ?  Whether  they  were 
burned,  destroyed,  or  placed  in  the  museum  as 
relics  of  antiquity  ?  No  !  Pope  Barbarini  [called 
Urban  VIII.]  the  Vicar  af  God,  melted  all  the 
gods  together,  and  metamorphosed  them  into  four 
collossal  pillars  of  the  Corinthian  order,  which 
raised  their  gigantic  heads  even  with  the  cupola 
of  St.  Peters,  and  adorn  the  high  altar  where  the 


THE   PANTHEON.  61 

Pope   celebrates  the   Mass.      Poor   gods  !   poor 
Rome  I1 

Returning  to  the  Pantheon,  I  must  observe  that 
in  the  church  there  is  a  statue,  which  is  called, 
"  La  Madonna  del  Sasso"  in  plain  English, 
The  Lady  of  the  Stone>     Why  she  is  called  so, 

'The  Patnheon  is  the  most  interesting  antiquity  in 
Rome  ;  its  elegance  and  grandeur  exhibit  the  taste  of 
the  ancient  Romans.  This  temple  was  erected  by 
Agrippa,  son-in-law  of  Augustus,  and  repaired  by 
Septimus  Severus  and  Caracalla.  The  vestibulum  is 
sapported  by  sixteen  Corinthian  columns  of  oriental 
granite,  fifteen  feet  in  circumference  and  forty-two 
high.  The  original  doors  were  vandalized  by  Genseric, 
and  lost  in  the  Sicilian  sea.  The  interior  of  the  Pan- 
theon is  circular,  with  one  window  only,  and  that  in 
the  centre  of  the  dome;  by  this  opening  which  is  on 
the  roof,  the  edifice  receives  its  only  light.  The  dia- 
meter of  the  temple  is  one  hundred  and  forty -three  feet, 
exclusive  of  the  walls,  which  are  twenty  feet  in  thick- 
ness. The  high  t  was  originally  equal  to  the  diameter, 
until  the  pavement  was  elevated  to  correspond  with 
the  new  portico,  which  was  made  higher  than  the  ori- 
ginal one.  It  would  afford  me  great  pleasure  if  I 
could  describe  the  splendor  of  that  temple  before  it 
was  robbed  by  Urban  VIII.  from  the  family  Barbarini. 

The  Pantheon  was  dedicated  to  all  gods.  A  statue 
of  Jupitar  Tonans,  or  the  Avenger,  stood  in  the  centre 
of  the  tribuna;  the  infernal  deities  on  the  pavement, 
the  terestrial  on  the  lower  niches  in  the  walls,  and  the 
celestial  in  the  upper  niches.  The  walls  were  once 
adorned  with  busts,  inscriptions,  and  monuments  in 
memory  of  great  men.  Among  the  statues  of  the 
Pantheon,  Pliny  mentions  one,  which  had  ear-rings 
matte  of  a  pearl  cut  in  two,  being  the  fellow  of  that 
which  Cleopatra  dissolved  in  vinegar,  and  drank  to 
the  health  of  Mark  Antony. 


and  how  she  came  there,  whether  she  entered  tfig 
church  by  a  miracle  or  was  carried  there,  I  can- 
not say j  because  I  never  troubled  myself  about 
her  origin  ;  but  one  thing  I  know,  because  all  the 
priests  in  Rome  say  so,  and  all  the  devotees  ill 
the  city  testify  to  it,  that  she  is  a  great  miracle 
working  lady.  She  however  never  Wrought  one 
for  me,  though  I  said  many  ave  marias  upofi 
bended  knees  to  her*  but  others  who  have  been 
lame,  blind,  or  paralitic,  or  labouring  under  some' 
Other  cronical  disease,  were  [as  they  say]  cured 
by  her,  so  that  the  weekly  income  of  the  offerings 
Wdre  over  a  hundred  dollars,  without  the  silvef 
hands  and  feet*  golden  pins  and  chains,  or  other 
costly  ornaments,  which  those  so  cured  bring  to 
adorn  hef,  as  an  act  of  pious  gratitude.  I  have 
seen  that  Storie  Lady  dressed  more  elegantly  and 
more  costly  than  any  queen  or  empress  upon  the' 
earth  can  ever  be*  It  shows  that  the  priests  of 
Rome  have  much  taste  in  dressing  ladies. 

As  the  pleasures  of  this  world  are  transitory  ^ 
so  was  the  greatness  of  the  blessed  Stone  Lady 
destined  to  be  evanescent,  It  was  a  bright  day* 
bright  in  every  respect  for  the  monks  of  St.  Au- 
gustine, when  the  ladies  and  persons  of  all  classes 
in  the  city  of  Rome  directed  there  steps  to  the 


THE  VIRGIN  OF  PAUTUMTION.  68 

church  of  the  Augustine  Friars  ;  even  the  less  dc 
votional  would  not  remain  at  home,  but  would 
kneel  at  the  foot,  I  should  say  before  the  pedestal 
of  the  immaculate  Virgine  del  Parto,jr\  English 
44  Vergin  of  Parturition"  To  make  the  history 
short ;  the  monks  of  the  Augustine  order  envying 
the  canons  of  the  Pantheon  of  the  great  income 
which  the  Lady  of  Stone  brought,  they  devised  a 
plan  to  draw  the  revenues  of  the  Pantheon  into 
the  treasury  of  their  convent.  Having  an  old 
rough  statue  of  a  Madonna  in  the  corridor  of  the 
convent,  for  many  years  covered  with  dust,  they 
thought  that  lady  would  be  more  comfortably 
situated  in  the  church;  they  appointed  a  day? 
which  was  extensively  published  and  widely  cir- 
culated, that  the  Lady  of  Parturition,  who  per- 
formed so  many  miracles  upon  several  females  in 
time  of  need,  would  be  carried  in  procession  to 
the  church.  The  vanity  of  the  ladies  having  been 
touched,  they  collected  from  all  parts,  and  the 
Lady  of  Parturition  became  the  lady  of  the  la* 
dies. 

The  canons  of  the  Pantheon  were  alarmed  at 
that  trick,  because  the  Lady  of  the  Stone  lost  a 
great  many  customers,  and  the  canons  felt  that 
loss  in  their  pockets  too,  much  more  so  as  the 


64  THE  VIRGIN  OF  PARTURITION. 

monks  carried  on  business  in  a  more  skillful  man- 
ner, and  their  revenues  became  incalculable. 

Three  monks  were  constantly  engaged,  one 
with  a  stole  over  his  neck  and  a  maniple  on  his 
hand,  who  blessed  the  wax  candles ;  the  other 
sold  them  to  the  devoted  women,  and  lighted 
them  before  the  Virgin  of  Parturition,  the  third 
was  walking  round  with  the  purgatory  box,  and 
received  the  offerings.  The  great  concourse  of 
people  brought  as  a  matter  of  course  a  great  num- 
ber of  female  penitents  to  the  confessionals,  who 
procured  a  great  many  Masses  to  be  said  to  the 
Lady  of  the  Ladies,  who  payed  lady-like  for  it. 
The  gifts  which  the  Roman  ladies  [who  are  gen- 
erally very  liberal  to  monks]  brought  her,  were  so 
great)  that  in  a  short  time  half  of  the  church  was 
garnished  with  jewels  and  ladies  ornaments,  so 
that  it  seemed  more  like  entering  the  shop  of  a 
jeweller,  rather  than  a  temple  of  the  living  God. 
Even  the  young  ladies  gathered  at  all  times  in  a 
large  number  before  the  Lady  of  Ladies,  to  try 
her  miraculous  virtues,  praying  her  to  procure  for 
them  husbands.  The  young  gentlemen  being 
sure  to  find  the  young  ladies  upon  their  knees  in 
the  Augustine  church,  became  adorers  of  the  lady 
as  a  matter  of  courtesy.     So  at  every  hour  of  the 


THE  STONE  LADY.  65 

day,  but  especially  in  the  evening  until  late  in  the 
night  the  adorers  of  both  sexes  filled  the  church. 

The  poor  Stone  Lady  in  the  Pantheon  was 
placed  in  the  most  critical  pecuniary  state,  her  in- 
come [as  I  have  been  informed  by  a  canon  of  that 
church]  was  not  more  than  twenty  dollars  a  month. 
The  canons  being  in  a  desperate  financial  state, 
they  brought  an  action  of  irregularity,  against 
the  Lady  of  Parturition:  "being  not  canonised, 
she  has  no  right,  nor  power  to  work  miracles, 
moreover  the  miracles  she  had  performed  already 
were  no  miracles  at  all,  not  having  received  the 
sanction  of  the  Pope  the  head  of  the  church,  con- 
sequently cannot  have  the  approval  of  her  beloved 
Son." 

Scarcely  had  this  transpired,  before  it  spread 
like  fire  through  the  whole  city,  and  became  the 
subject  of  conversation  in  every  circle,  the  railings 
against  the  priests  and  monks,  the  laughing  of  the 
young  people,  the  mockings  at  the  ladies ;  the 
pasquinades  and  scandals  are  not  to  be  described. 
Every  one  was  anxious  to  see  the  end  of  the  trial. 
Some  avowed  that  the  lady  of  the  monks  must 
shut  her  counting  house,  for  if  the  church  would 
sanction  such  an  abuse,  every  stone  could  be  ador- 
ed and  worshiped.  The  church  only  [said  the 
6 


66  THE  STONE  LADY. 

priests]  is  the  judge  of  a  true  miracle,  ami  not  tlifs 
person  who  pretends  to  have  been  the  subject  of 
it  Others  argued  the  contrary ;  they  believed 
that  the  power  of  the  queen  of  heaven  cannot  be 
limited.,  she  can  manifest  it  where  and  when  she 
likes.  The  church  in  canonising  a  Madonna  does 
not  authorize  or  sanction,  but  recognizes  it  as  an 
act  of  free  mercy  of  the  heavenly  queen. 

The  retired  monks  troubled  themselves  very 
little  about  the  corruptions  of  the  world,  or  the 
avariciousness  of  the  canons,  not  even  about  the 
destitute  state  of  the  Stone  Lady  in  the  Pantheon, 
and  continued  to  light  and  to  sell  their  wax  can- 
dles, to  sing  litanies  and  to  spread  abroad  new 
miracles  of  the  great  lady.  The  monks  whispered 
it  in  the  confessionals,  proclaimed  it  at  the  altar, 
cried  about  it  from  the  pulpits.  Nothing  had  been 
neglected  on  the  part  of  the  monks.  The  confes- 
sors gave  no  other  penance  than  so  many  ave  ma- 
rias  to  the  holy  Virgin  Lady ;  the  preachers  ex- 
tolled her  perfections.  They  edified  the  people 
in  their  masses  with  commemorations  to  the  mer- 
cies of  the  Virgin  Mary.  The  people  of  good 
sense  understood  it,  and  valued  it  as  much  as  it 
was  worth.  The  Roman  ladies  felt  themselves 
grossly  offended  at  this  insult  on  their  protectress 


PAPAL  ROME  AND  HEATHEN  ROME.         67 

in  the  hoar  of  need  ;  and  sympathized  with  the 
humble  monks.  Even  the  young  ladies  blushing- 
ly  said  :  "  in  spite  of  the  canons  we  will  visit  the 
Madonna  del  Parto,"  and  agreed  to  meet  their 
beaux  at  the  Augustine  church. 

I  cannot  tell  how  things  went  at  the  secret 
council  of  the  Curia,  but  the  result,  which  was 
propagated  with  the  celerity  of  lightning  was,  as 
many  had  expected :  namely,  That  his  Holiness, 
the  Pope  Leo  XII.  decided  in  favor  of  the  Virgin 
of  the  Parturition  and  granted  to  the  greater  en- 
couragment  of  the  faithful,  plenary  indulgence  of 
so  many  days,  Sic. 

My  readers  will  think  this  a  romance,  I  guar- 
antee the  truth  of  the  narrative  and  assure  them, 
that  for  the  sake  of  decorum  I  have  not  told  the 
half.  Every  traveller  who  has  been  in  Rome, 
can  attest  the  fact,  that  even  at  this  day,  the  un- 
canonized  lady  in  the  Augustine  church  is  wor- 
shipped by  all  classes  of  the  inhabitants  of  Rome. 

Now  what  is  the  difference  between  heathen 
Rome  and  Papal  Rome  ?  The  first  brought  of- 
ferings to  Minerva  and  sacrificed  to  Diana.  The 
second  offers  donations  to  the  stone  lady,  and 
says  masses  to  the  lady  of  the  Parturition.  The 
first  bowed  down  and  worshipped  their  godesses. 


68        CARDINAL  GIUSTINIANI  AT  RIMINI. 

Papal  Rome  gives  the  same  adoration  and  per- 
forms the  same  devotional  acts  to  their  female 
god,  which  they  style  the  queen  of  heaven. 

That  Rome  lost  the  faith  of  the  primitive 
church,  there  is  no  doubt ;  that  the  practices  of 
that  church  are  heathenish,  none  can  deny.  In 
Rimini  the  principal  city  of  the  Romagna,  or  pa- 
pal province,  there  was  an  old  custom,  that  a  cer- 
tain miraculous  statue  of  the  Virgin  Mary  (I  do 
not  remember  her  name)  was  carried  in  proces- 
sion every  corpus  Domini  with  a  crown  upon  her 
head ;  being  considered  the  protectress  of  that 
city;  she  was  adored  by  all  the  citizens.  The 
cardinal  Giustiniani,  who  was  appointed  arch- 
bishop of  Rimini  forbade  that  the  Virgin  Mary 
should  have  a  crown  any  longer  upon  her 
head.  The  reason  he  gave  was  simply,  that : 
"  she  is  not  yet  canonized."  He  had  no  other 
object  in  view,  than  that  the  citizens  should  pro- 
mise to  collect  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  as  a 
fee  for  the  canonization ;  he  would  write  in  the 
mean  time  to  Rome  for  a  dispensation  (which 
would  be  another  source  of  revenue  for  the  Vati- 
can,) until  the  sum  could  be  collected,  which 
would  entitle  her  to  wear  a  crown.  But  the  mag- 
istrates of  that  city  would  enter  into  no  agreement 
whatever,  requesting  his  Eminence  to  grant  their 


CARDINAL  GIUSTINIANI  AT  RIMINI.        69 

Protectress  the  privilege  to  wear  a  crown,  a  privi- 
lege which  she  enjoyed  for  a  long  series  of  years, 
but  all  was  in  vain.  The  cardinal  would  not 
grant  it,  except  they  applied  for  a  dispensation  to 
the  Pope 

The  day  of  the  procession  arrived ;  the  cir- 
cumstances were  known  in  the  neighborhood,  the 
people  came  from  all  parts,  some  to  revenge  the 
wrong  which  had  been  inflicted  upon  the  miracu- 
lous lady,  others  out  of  curiosity ;  but  it  is  suf 
ficient  to  say,  that  the  city  of  Rimini  never  wit- 
nessed such  a  spectacle  before,  and  1  trust  it  never 
will  again. 

The  procession  began,  the  friars  of  all  colours 
marched  on  in  their  ranks;  the  respective  compa- 
nies in  their  masquerades  followed  the  monks  and 
friars  ;  soldiers  in  arms  accompanied  the  train ; 
the  priests  and  canons  of  the  Cathedral  joined  in 
the  procession,  then,  alas!  the  Virgin  Lady  Mary 
was  carried  out  of  the  church  without  a  crown, 
but  had  seven  stars  in  a  half  circle  over  her  head. 
Why  the  number  seven  had  been  chosen  I  do  not 
know,  but  that  twelve  thousand  dollars  had  been 
staked  in  the  lottery  upon  the  number  seven  is  a 
melancholy  fact. 


70        CARDINAL  GIUSTINIANI  AT  RIMINI. 

Scarcely  had  the  statue  appeared  in  the  street, 
when  the  people  stoped  the  men  who  carried  her 
and  would  not  allow  that  she  should  be  carried  in 
such  a  dishonored  manner  in  procession.  The 
soldiers  tried  to  disperse  the  crowd  with  their 
muskets,  but  all  in  vain.  The  enraged  multitude 
wounding  a  soldier,  it  was  found  necessary  to 
make  use  of  bayonets,  by  which  means  they  in 
their  turn  wounded  some  of  the  citizens,  and  in 
the  crowd  injured  also  some  females ;  the  mob 
became  furious,  throwing  stones  upon  the  soldiers 
and  crying  vengeance  against  the  priests.  The 
commander  ordered  them  to  fire  upon  the  people, 
many  of  whom  were  mortally  wounded,  even  un- 
ofTensive  women  and  children ;  then  the  cry : 
"  Morte  ai  preti,"  death  to  the  priests!  was  heard 
in  all  directions ;  the  priests  with  their  stoles  es- 
caped from  their  ranks ;  the  screams  of  the  chil- 
dren, the  lamentations  of  the  wives  in  behalf  of 
their  husbands;  the  running  of  the  monks,  the 
explosion  of  the  muskets,  was  a  melancholy  sight. 
At  the  time  that  the  tragedy  was  going  on,  a  part 
of  the  mob  ran  to  the  episcopal  palace,  where  the 
cardinal  resided,  rushed  like  a  flood  into  the  pal- 
ace :  "  Morte  al  tiranno"  death  to  the  tyrant, 
was  heard  from  every  mouth ;  fortunately  he  had 


THE  HOLY  STAIRS.  71 

time  to  save  himself  through  the  garden.  Not 
finding  the  cardinal,  they  broke  all  the  furniture, 
dashed  it  through  the  windows  and  burned  it  in 
the  middle  of  the  street. 

The  news  went  to  Rome ;  the  panic  was  ex- 
ceedingly great ;  the  Pope  feared  a  revolution ; 
soldiers  were  ordered  in  the  same  night  to  leave 
Rome  for  Rimini,  to  terrify  the  agitated  spirits  of 
the  mob.  The  Pope  by  a  special  decree  graci- 
ously ordered,  that  the  authors  of  that  tragic 
scene,  who  had  disturbed  the  public  peace  should 
be  severely  punished,  and  a  plenary  indulgence 
to  all,  who  say  so  many  ave  marias  to  the  Vir- 
gin Mary,  who  shall  henceforth  have  the  privi- 
lege to  wear  a  crown.  Here  we  must  say  with 
Virgil:  "Magnum  Jovis  incrementum,"  or  with 
the  inhabitants  of  Ephesus  ;  "  great  is  Diana  of 
the  Ephesiens." 

If  I  could  accompany  my  readers  through  the 
city  of  Rome,  I  would  lead  them  upon  mount 
Janiculum,  now  called  St.  John  of  Laterati; 
there  they  would  find  a  chapel,  where  they  would 
see  thousands  of  people  crawling  up  a  high  flight 
of  stairs  upon  their  knees  and  kissing  every  step 
with  the  Rosaries  in  their  hands,  until  they  ar- 
rive upon  the  last  step.     The  priests  tell  us  that 


72  THE    HOLY    STAIRS. 

this  is  the  holy  stair-case  which  Christ  aseended 
when  he  appeared  before  Pilate,  which  has  been 
carried  by  angels  from  Jerusalem  to  Home.1  But 
I  must  not  forget  to  mention,  that  the  crawling 
upon  the  knees  must  be  occompanied  with  some 

'The  celebrated  scala  santa  or  holy  stairs,  contains 
twenty-eight  white  marble  steps ;  it  is  said  to  have 
belonged  to  the  palace  of  Pilate,  at  Jerusalem,  and  to 
have  been  trodden  hy  Jesus  Christ.  They  were  cov- 
ered with  wooden  boards  by  order  of  Clement  XII.  to 
prevent  their  being  worn  out  by  the  multitudes  of  de- 
votees ascending  them  on  their  knees.  There  is  a 
great  deal  of  mysteriousness  and  false  sacredness 
thrown  about  the  whole  edifice  which  contains  these 
stairs;  there  are  several  secret  apartments,  which  are 
kept  constantly  locked.  One  of  them  (the  priests 
says,)  "contains  the  most  precious  and  most  sacred 
relic  of  Christianity.  Some  say,  it  contains  the  feath- 
er of  the  seraphic  Doctor,  with  which  he  wrote  his 
works,  which  an  angel  brought  him  in  his  study." 
Others  say,  "  the  feather  of  a  wing  of  the  arch-angcl 
Gabriel,  which  he  left  when  he  saluted  the  Virgin 
Mary  ;  a  bottle  of  the  Virgin  Mary's  milk.  A  bottle 
with  tears  of  our  Saviour  shed  at  the  grave  of  Laza- 
rus;  the  cord  with  which  our  Saviour  was  bound  at 
the  pillar  when  scourged,"  &c,  the  fact  is,  no  body 
knows  what  that  edifice  contains  ;  you  will  not  find 
even  the  oldest  of  the  priests,  who  ever  troubled  him- 
self about  it,  and  still  he  maintains,  that  some  holy 
thing  is  in  it.  There  Luther,  the  glorious  reformer, 
once  basely  crawled  upon  his  knees  to  purchase  an 
absolution;  but  the  light  of  eternal  truth  had  previ- 
ously dawned  upon  his  mind,  and  the  words,  "the 
just  shall  live  by  faith ,"  sounded  like  thunder  in  his 
ears  while  he  was  on  the  very  stairs.  He  arose  in 
horror  from  his  servile  debasement  and  from  that  mo- 
ment walked  forth  a  free  man,  vowed  to  exhibit  the 
fraud  and  wickedness  of  exacting  such  penanees,  and 
to  publish  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus. 


MAING    STONE.  73 

for  the  souls  in  Purgatory.  The  Apostle 
Paul  said  to  the  Romans  of  his  time,  that  not 
•through  the  works  of  the  law,  nor  through  our 
own  righteousness  are  we  saved,  but  through  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ.  The  so-called  Vicar  of  Christ, 
says  the  contrary;  we  are  saved  by  crawling  up- 
on our  knees,  or  by  performing  some  other  works 
of  self-righteousness. 

I  would  lead  my  readers  into  a  church  near  St. 
Sebastian,  there  they  will  find  a  square  stone  of 
white  marble,  upon  which  the  impression  of  two 
feet  are  seen,  to  which  the  people  pray  and  cover 
wiili  kisses,  being  [as  we  are  told]  the  stone 
where  our  Lord  was  standing,  when  he  met  the 
apostles  after  his  glorious  resurrection.  We  arc 
informed  by  the  priests  at  Rome,  that  the  stone 
came  flying  in  the  air  from  Jerusalem  to  Rome, 
and  remained  where  it  is  now.  Plenr.ry  indulgence 
-is  granted  to  every  one  who  says  certain  prayers 
to  that  flying  stone. 

I  would  continue  to  lead  my  readers  into  a  cel- 
lar of  a  chapel  near  the  mount  Tarpea,  which  is 
said  to  be  the  prison  of  the  apostle  Paul,  the  very 
place  where  the  jailor  was  converted ;  there  they 
will  see  a  spring  in  the  middle  of  the  cellar,  which 
sprung  up  in  a  miraculous  way  in  order  to  baptize 
7 


14  ST.  PETER  IN  VIKCULIS. 

him  and  his  family.  That  water- has  great  head- 
ing virtues  ;  Brandreth's  and  Morrison's  pilis  are 
mere  quackery  compared  with  it.  It  is  good  for 
the  inflammation  of  the  eyes  if  washed  with  it,  also 
for  pulmonea  if  regularly  taken  and  some  prayers 
be  repeated  at  the  time.  That  water  is  bottled 
and  sold  for  the  spiritual  and  temporal  welfare  of 
the  faithful. 

I  would  continue  to  lead  my  readers  into  a 
church  not  far  from  the  ancient  Forum  Romanum, 
called  SL  Peter  in  vinculis,  where  the  priests  as- 
sure us  that  they  are  in  the  possession  of  the 
identical  chain  with  which  the  apostle  Peter  was 
fettered  before  his  crucifixion  in  Rome.  There 
is  a  discrepancy  of  historical  tradition  with  regard 
to  the  manner  in  which  that  chain  came  into  that 
church  ;  it  would  however  be  too  ridiculous  to  ref- 
late all  those  legends  which  are  afloat. 

In  the  same  church  is  to  be  seen  the  pillar  toj 
which  our  Saviour  was  bound,  when  he  was 
scourged  before  his  crucifixion.  One  of  the 
Catholic  sovereigns  asked  Gregory  the  'VII.  for 
some  holy  relic,  and  the  Pope  caused  a  peace  of 
the  pillar  to  be  broken  off  and  sent  it  to  his  ma- 
jesty, but  the  fragment  disappeared,  and  in  the 
morning  the  pillar  was  entire  ;  it  had  returned  of 


COLOSSEUM   iiOMAttUM;  73 

its  own  accord  and  joined  itself  again  in  such  an 
artful  manner  that  it  can  scarcely  be  seen.  This 
chain  and  pillar  are  adored,  kissed,  prayed  to  by 
the  people  of  Koine,  who  receive  plenary  indul* 
gence  for  their  devotion  to  it. 

If  my  readers  are  not  tired,  I  will  accompany 
them  to  the  amphitheatre  Flavianum,  now  called,' 
"the  Colosseum  Romanum"  a  building  which 
was  erected  by  the  emperor  Flavian,  by  60,000 
Jews  which  he  brought  captive  from  Jerusalem <. 
It  is  properly  called  Colosseum,  for  it  is  colossal 
in  its  dimensions,  colossal  as  a  living  monument 
of  the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecies.  A  theatre  in 
which  the  first  martyrs  of  the  cross  were  exposed 
to  the  fury  of  wild  beasts,  and  sealed  with  their 
blood  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  in  the  presence 
of  a  hundred  thousand  spectators,  which  that 
building  could  conveniently  contain.  Now  my 
readers  will  find  in  that  splendid  relic  of  antiquity 
and  Christianity  a  miserable  hermit  with  a  box  in 
his  hand,  to  the  annoyance  of  the  passengers^ 
begging  for  souls  in  purgatory. 

I  shall  not  leave  the  Colosseum,  without  show- 
ing my  readers  another,  not  less  barbarous  act  of 
the  infallible  Pope  of  Rome.  The  Pope  Barba- 
vini  had  a  nephew,  who  asked  from  his  holiness 


16  COLOSSEUM    ROMANUM, 

his  uncle  the  permission  to  carry  off  some  stoiie^ 
from  the  Colosseum.  The  Pope  [as  it  is  histori- 
cally reported]  did  not  at  first  give  his  permission 
for  three  strong  reasons,  First.  It  was  not  his 
property,  it  belongs  to  the  State.  Secondly.  It  is 
too  holy  to  make  use  of  it  for  any  profane  object. 
Thirdly.  It  is  such  a  splendid  piece  of  antiquity 
that  it  cannot  be  equalled  in  the  worlcL  But  his 
nephew  giving  him  no  rest  until  the  Pope  [in 
spite  of  all  these  sound  reasons]  gave  him  the 
permission  to  take  as  many  as  he  could  carry  off 
in  one  night*  That  wretch  demolished  in  one 
night  a  third  part  of  that  relic,  which  the  tooth  of 
time  could  not  destroy,  and  the  hand  of  the  north- 
ern barbarian  dared  not  touch,  and  carried  off  in 
one  night  as  many  as  were  required  to  build  that 
splendid  palace  Barbarini,  one  of  the  most  mag- 
nificent in  Rome.  Let  us  turn  our  eyes  from  that 
scene  of  which  barbarians  were  ashamed,  but 
which  the  Pope  Barbarini  [the  little  barbarian] 
was  able  to  perpetrate,  and  direct  our  steps  to  the 
Roman  capilol.  Let  us  traverse  the  Forum  Ro- 
manum,  now  called :  "  Campo  Vaccino,"  the 
field  of  the  cattle,  where  Cicero  harangued  the 
Roman  citizens.  In  passing  the  Via  Apia,  the 
road  where  the  Roman  conquerors  entered  in  tri- 


THE  CAriTOL  OF  ROME.  77 

umph,  we  shall  leave  at  our  right  the  ruins  of  the 
most  splendid  Temple  of  Peace,  in  which  the 
riches  of  heathen  Rome  were  preserved,  and  from 
which  when  in  flames  the  melted  gold  flowed  in 
streams  into  the  streets  ;  but  as  the  Virgin  Mary- 
has  wrought  no  miracle  in  that  temple,  it  was  left 
to  its  own  destruction,  and  scarcely  a  vestige  of 
the  beautiful  architecture  is  to  be  seen.  At  our 
left  we  shall  leave  the  mount  Palatinum,  where 
the  ruins  of  the  palaces  of  Roman  emperors  are 
yet  to  be  seen,  in  which  the  begging  hermits  have 
made  their  nests,  and  trouble  the  visitors  with 
their  Purgatory  box,  fabulous  legends  and  mira- 
culous stories. 

But  let  us  ascend  the  capitol  of  the  city  of  the 
world ;  the  place  where  the  voice  of  the  Roman 
senators  caused  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  to 
tremble,  is  now  changed  into  a  mournful  and  nas- 
al sing-song  of  Franciscan  friars.  Look  at  that 
high  stair-case  [with  forty  steps]  leading  to 
the  Franciscan  convent ;  see  those  fanatics  who 
ascend  upon  their  knees,  and  at  every  step  say  an 
Ave  Maria  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  that  she  might 
tell  them  in  a  dream,  what  numbers  they  shall 
take  in  the  lottery,  that  they  might  gain  a  lerno. 
In  the  face  of  the  nineteenth  century,  in  the  pre- 


78  THE  CAPITOL  OF  ROME. 

sence  of  the  sacred  college  and  infallible  Pope, 
such  heathenish  devotions,  absurd  adorations  and 
foolish  religious  acts,  should  be  tolerated,  of  which 
we  have  no  example  in  the  history  of  heathen 
Rome.  Encouraged  by  the  monks  and  friars,  tol- 
erated by  the  sacred  college,  in  order  to  draw  the 
last  pence  from  the  pockets  of  the  poor  into  the 
treasury  of  the  Camera  Apostolica,  by  a  false 
hope,  that  the  Virgin  Mary  will  tell  them  the 
numbers  which  will  be  drawn  in  the  next  lottery! 
The  spectacle  is  too  shocking;  the  principle  too 
bad  to  dwell  longer  upon.  We  shall  turn  our 
steps  towards  the  sanctum  sanctorum,  in  the  place 
where  no  profane  foot  can  enter,  no  profane  eye 
penetrate;  it  is  the  manufactory  of  ignorance  and 
superstition  ;  it  is  the  machinery  of  popery,  to 
draw  the  wealth  of  the  faithful  dispersed  in  the 
world,  into  the  pocket  of  the  Pope.  You  are 
anxious  to  know  what  it  is  ?  It  is  the  place  where 
the  relics  of  saints  are  manufactured.  As  I  can- 
not introduce  you  into  the  secret  walls  of  that  un- 
hallowed place,  and  show  you  the  bones  of  dogs 
and  cats,  heads  of  old  Roman  soldiers,  which 
have  been  excavated  in  the  different  parts  of 
Rome,  and  rags  of  all  sorts  and  colors,  which  are 
sold  for  relics  of  saints. 


•RELIC     CIIivM!  79 

I  will  give  some  specimens  of  Papal  deccitful- 
aaess,  which  arc  known  \o  every  Roman  inlribi- 
itant.  Yon  must  know,  that  a  tooth  of  the  holy 
.Jlgafha,  if  carried  about  the  body,  or  adored 
upon  the.  altar,  is  a  preventive  of  tooth-ache. — 
Piua  VII.  ordered  by  a  special  decree,  (I  do  not 
know  if  it  was  because  some  abuses  were  made 
of  it,  or  to  make  the  article  more  valuable,  that 
all  the  relics  of  St,  Agatha,  in  every  part  of  the 
world  should  return  to  Home,  and  in  the  space  of 
eight  months,  two  bushels  of  teeth,  all  of  the 
holy  Agatha  were  restored  to  the  Relie  Chambers 
in  Rome. 

The  relies  of  the  cross  and  spears,  with  which 
our  Saviour  was  pierced,  are  so  numerously  scat- 
tered throughout  the  world,  that  if  all  were  gath- 
ered and  joined  together,  a  house  might  be  built 
with  them;  and  if  the  heads  of  Johii  the  Bap- 
tist, the  nails  and  hammers,  scattered  upon  the 
globe,  which  the  priests  give  out  as  genuine, — 
were  gathered  upon  a  vessel  to  bring  them  to 
Rome,  it  would  have  a  very  good  cargo,  and 
would  need  no  ballast. 

If  I  were  to  lead  my  readers  to  the  confession- 
Is,  where  the  confessors  are  surrounded  by  inno- 
-  ci.it.  youths  of  both  sexes,  who  think  not  of  fly- 


80  CONFESSIONAL. 

ing  from  sin,  but  how  to  commit  it,  they  wouk'J 
be  astonished.  If  the  confessor  v/ere  only  a 
judge  of  that  which  the  penitent  accuses  himself,,, 
I  would  say  nothing,  but  the  confessors  are  like 
lawyers  before  the  bar  of  justice,  who  cross  ex- 
amine and  confound  the  witnesses  in  order  that 
they  might  commit  themselves.  Such  is  the  con- 
duct of  the  confessors  in  the  wooden  tribunal. 

To  give  an  authentic  proof  of  what  is  taught 
to  students  of  divinity,  who  are  obliged  to  le;ui 
a  life  of  chastity  and  perpetual  celibacy.  I  wilt 
quote  from  the  standard  work  of  Dens'  Theology* 
taught  in  Emmittsburg,  a  seminary  in  Maryland, 
in  the  United  States.1 

I.  u  Quinta  species  luxuriae  contra  naturam 
commtttitur  qusrndo  quidem  copula  masculi  Jit  in 
vase  ferning  naturali,  sed  indebito  rnodo,  v, 
g.  stando,  aut  dum  vir  succumbit,  vel  a  retro  femi- 
nam  cognoscit,  si  cut  equi  congrediuntur,  quamvis 
m  vase  femineo." 

II.  "  Possunt  autem  he  modi  inducere  peccat- 
nm  mortale  juxta  periculum  p^rdendi  semen,  ea 
quod  scilicet  semen  viri  communiter  non  possii 
ellundi  usque  in  matricera  femiiuc." 

'Peter  Dens.  De  modo  contra  nataiam  No.  295,.. 


CONFESSIONAL.  SI 

III.  "  Et  quamvis  forte  conjuges  dicant,  quod 
periculura  diligenter  preecaveant,  illi  interim  las- 
civi  modi  a  gravi  veniali  excusari  non  debent,  nisi 
forte  propter  impotentiam,  v.  g.  ob  curvitatem  ux- 
oris,  nequeat  servaii  naturalis  situs,  et  modus,  qui 
est  ut  mulier  succumbat  viro." 

Queritur.  "  Quid  agere  debet  is  qui  sub  pol* 
lutione  in  somno  inchoata  evigelat?"1 

R.  "  Evigilans  non  potest  ei  ullum  consensum 
prcebere,  sed  potius  dissensum,  seu  displicentiam 
voluntatis  for  mare  debet." 

Q.  "  An  tenrtur  illam  pollutionem  in  somno 
incept  am,  mox  it  vigilal,  vi  cohibere  smimquc 
corpus  comprimere,  ne  continuatur  in  vigi~ 
liar 

R.  "Cum  Antoin:  tenetur,  saltern  ut  pollutio 
non  continuetur  per  effusionem  seminis  nee  dum 
e  lumbis,  vel  ex  testiculis  extravasati.  Sanchez, 
B Ulnar t,  alliique  videntur  permittere  continua- 
tionem  ob  periculum  infirmitatis;  sed  omnino 
puto,  eos  dicere  solummodo  de  semine  jam  extra- 
vassato,  nimirum  ut  exterius  eilluat :  alioquin  non 
licet  promovere  formalem,  nequidem  ad  evaden- 
dam  mortem." 

'Ibid.  De  pollutione,  No.  29G. 


82  CONFESSIONAL. 

"  Confessarius  prudens  omnem  evaded  invidi- 
am hac  methodo  :  dum  puella  confitetur  se  esse 
fornicatara,  confessarius  petat,  an  prima  vice,  qua 
simile  peccatum  comisit,  exposuerit  circumstan- 
tiam  amissce  virgin itatis." 

"  Si  respondeat  categorice,  ita,  vel  non,  cessat 
dimcultas;  et  quidem  si  jam  sint  prima?  vices 
statim  reponet,  jam  fuisse  prim  as  vices,  adeoque 
solum  ei  dici  debet,  ut  conteratur  de  ilia  circum- 
stantia,  et  earn  confiteatur  ;  si  taceat,  instrua'ur 
illam  circumstantiam  totius  semel  exprimendam, 
adeoque  si  it  nunquam  fecerit  jam  desuper  doleat, 
et  se  accuset."1 

My  female  readers  will  excuse  me  for  insert- 
ing the  authorities  in  Latin,  I  hope  they  will  at- 
tribute it  to  the  esteem  which  I  have  for  their 
virtue,  and  also  to  self  respect,  that  I  do  not  dis- 
cuss in  my  passes  such  principles,  which  will  and 
must  injure  the  morality  of  my  young  readers. 

Every  honest  Roman  Catholic,  who  has  fre- 
quented the  confessional,  must  have  experienced 
its  immoral  tendency  for  youth,  especially  fe- 
males, and  I  am  astonished,  that  in  this  free  coun- 
try, husbands  can  see  their  wives  and  daughters 
frequent  the   confessional,  without  trembling  for 

'Ibidem,  No.  287. 


CONFESSIONAL.  83 

their  virtue.  The  above  details  should  be  suffi- 
cient to  compel  every  father  of  a  family  to  abhor 
the  confessional,  as  obnoxious  to  morality.  If 
decency  would  allow  it,  I  could  write  a  volume, 
of  which  I  have  had  personal  experience,  and  of 
what  I  have  been  informed  by  others,  who  had 
the  same  melancholy  experience.  One  instance 
I  will  relate,  though  with  great  reluctance,  but  be- 
ing of  a  character,  which  can  be  related  without 
grossly  offending  the  ears  of  my  readers,  I  will 
mention  it. 

In  the  family  where  I  boarded  in  Florence,  was 
a  young  lady,  about  seventeen  years  of  age.  Her 
parents  gave  her  a  good,  but  above  all,  a  religious 
education.  One  day  the  mother  told  her  daught- 
er to  prepare  to  go  with  her  to-morrow  to  con- 
fess and  to  commune.  The  mother  unfortunate- 
ly, feeling  unwell  the  next  morning,  the  young 
lady  had  to  go  by  herself;  when  she  returned, 
her  eyes  showed  that  she  had  wept,  and  her 
countenance  indicated  that  something  unusual  had 
happened.  The  mother,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
inquired  the  cause,  but  she  wept  bitterly,  and  said 
she  was  ashamed  to  tell  it.  Then  the  mother  insis- 
ted ;  so  the  daughter  told  her  that  the  parish 
priest  to  whom  she  constantly  confessed,  asked 


84  ST.    ANTONY    IN    ROME. 

her  questions  this  time  which  she  could  not  re- 
peat without  a  blush.  She,  however,  repeated 
some  of  them,  which  were  of  the  most  licentious 
and  corrupting  tendency,  which  were  better  suit- 
ed to  the  lowest  sink  of  debauchery  than  the  con- 
fessional. Then  he  gave  her  some  instructions, 
which  decency  forbids  me  to  repeat;  gave  her 
absolution,  and  told  her  before  she  communed, 
she  must  come  into  his  house,  which  was  contig- 
uous to  the  church;  the  unsuspecting  young  crea- 
ture did  as  the  father  confessor  told  her.  The  rest, 
the  reader  can  imagine.  The  parents  furious,  would 
immediately  have  gone  to  the  arch-bishop,  and 
laid  before  him  the  complaint;  but  I  advised  them 
to  let  it  be  as  it  was,  because  they  would  injure 
the  character  of  their  daughter  more  than  the 
priest.  All  the  punishment  he  would  have  re- 
ceived, is  a  suspension  for  a  month  or  two,  and 
then  be  placed  in  another  parish,  or  even  remain 
where  he  is.  With  such  brutal  acts,  the  history 
of  the  confessional  is  full. 

If  I  could  lead  my  readers  on  the  17th  of 
January  to  the  church  of  St.  Antoin  in  Rome,  I 
am  convinced,  they  would  not  know  whether 
they  should  laugh  at  the  ridiculous  religious  per- 
formances, or  weep  over  the  heathenish  practices 


Bfr.    ANTONY   IN    ROME.  85 

of  the  church  of  Rome.  He  would  see  a  priest 
in  his  sacerdotal  garments,  with  a  stole  over  his 
neck,  a  brush  in  the  right  hand,  and  sprinkling 
the  mules,  asses  and  horses,  with  holy  water,  and 
praying  for  them  and  with  them,  and  blessing  them 
in  order  to  be  preserved  the  whole  year  from  sick- 
ness and  death,  famine  and  danger  for  the  sake 
and  merits  of  the  holy  Antony.  All  this  is  a 
grotesque  scene,  so  grotesque  that  no  American 
can  have  any  idea  of  it,  and  heathen  priests 
would  never  have  thought  of  it.  Add  to  that,  the 
great  mass  of  people,  the  kickings  of  the  mules, 
the  meetings  of  the  lovers,  the  neighings  of  the 
horses,  the  melodious  voices  of  the  asses,  the 
shoutings  of  the  multitude,  and  mockings  of  the 
protestants,  who  reside  in  Rome,  and  you  have  a 
spectacle,  which  would  be  new,  entirely  neiv,  not 
only  for  American  Protestants,  but  for  the  heath- 
en themselves,  and  must  be  abominable  in  the 
eye  of  God.  The  reason  why  cows,  calves  and 
oxen  are  excluded  from  the  privilege  of  being 
sprinkled  with  holy  water,  and  receiving  the  pray- 
ers of  the  priest*  and  the  protection  of  St.  An- 
tony, I  never  inquired ;  and  why  these  gentle- 
men, viz.  the  horses,  asses  and  mules,  are  so 
highly  distinguished  among  all  the  quadrupeds,  I 


66  THE   OPENING   01?   THE   EiES 

can  not  say  ;  perhaps  those  who  are  more  versed 
in  the  canons  of  the  councils,  will  be  able  to  give 
the  reader  light  on  that  subject.  But  enough  5 
the  subject  is  too  serious;  it  is  a  religious  exer-^ 
cise,  practiced  by  the  priests  of  Rome,  in  the  so- 
called  metropolis  of  the  christian  world,  sanction- 
ed by  the  self  styled  infallible  head  of  the  church 
of  Rome.  All  we  can  say  is:  "Ichabod,  thy 
glory  is  departed."  The  priests  of  heathen  Rome 
would  be  ashamed  of  such  a  religious  display  in 
the  nineteenth  century* 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EYES  OF  THE 
VIRGIN  MARY. 

In  Rome  there  is  preserved  a  gigantic  mask  of 
the  face  of  a  man,  in  the  church  of  Sia.  Maria  in 
Cosmodhi,  according  to  the  declaration  of  the 
most  scientific  antiquaries,  it  is  called,  "  La  boc- 
ca  della  verita,"  the  mouth  of  truth*  In  heathen 
Rome,  when  a  man  swore,  he  was  obliged  to  put 
his  right  hand  into  the  mouth  of  that  gigantic 
mask ;  if  what  he  swore  was  true  he  could  with- 


OF   THE   VIRGIN   MAR?.  87 

draw  his  hand  ;  if  false,  hffl  band  was  bitten  off 
by  that  monstrous  mouth.1  There  is  no  doubt,- 
that  the  priests  had  some  cutting  machine  in 
the  inside,  or  some  person  hidden  in  it,  who 
performed  the  operation,  and  cut  off  t3ie  hand 
of  the  perjurer.  Papal  Rome  is  worse,  it  is 
more  intriguing  and  far  more  cruel  than  the 
heathen  priests;  it  cuts  off  not  only  one  hand* 

'The  church  of  Santa  Maria  in  Cosmodin,  stands  in 
the  Forum  Boarium.  It  received  this  epithet  Couma- 
din, from  its  having  bepn  overcharged  with  orna- 
ments when  Adrian  rebuilt  it  in  the  year  728.  This 
edifice  stands  on  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  temple  of 
Pudiciiia  Patricia,  or  Chastity.  Plebeians  were  ex- 
cluded from  this  temple.  On  account  of  this  fact 
Virginia^  the  wife  of  Volumnius,  erected  the  temple 
of  Pudiciiia  Plebeia,  at  her  own  home.  She.  was 
herself  of  noble  birth,  but  had  to  adopt  the  station  of 
her  husband,  who  was  a  Plebeian.  The  pavement  is 
of  beautiful  porphyry,  and  the  high  altar  of  red 
Egyptian  granite;  the  columns  of  the  interior  are  of 
antique  marble.  There  is  a  discrepancy  of  opinion 
among  the  antiquarians,  with  regard  to  the  use 
of  the  ugly  mask  of  marble,  which  stands  in  the 
porch.  Some  say  .  "  It  served  as  the  mouth  of  an 
ancient  fountain."  Others  suppose,  that  oracles  is-* 
sued  from  this  mouth,  therefore  it  is  called  :  t'  La 
bucca  della  verita"  (the  mouth  of  truth.)  But  it  is 
generally  supposed  that  it  represents  Jupiter,  and  that 
persons  put  their  hands  in  the  mouth  of  it  when  they 
made  oath  in  court,  and  that  the  mouth  closed  upon 
all  perjured  persons.  There  is  a  common  saying  in 
Rome,  "that  women  never  put  their  hands  into  it, 
for  it  was  sure  to  close."  That  is  no  compliment  to- 
the  ancient  Roman  ladies. 


but  millions  of  souls,  as  the  following  fact  will 
sufficiently  show. 

The  people  of  Rome  are  not  so  dull  and  stu- 
pid as  the  priests  desire  to  have  them.  The  se- 
cret police  in  the  confessional,  the  paid  spies  in 
the  public  establishments,  and  the  multitude  of 
gens  d'arms  can  terrify  them,  but  can  not  enchain 
their  minds,  nor  fetter  their  intellects.  Satires 
against  the  canons  of  the  Pantheon,  pasquinades 
against  the  Pope,  and  publicly  ridiculing  the 
monks*  were  the  order  of  the  day.  If  the  Inquis- 
ition would  have  attempted  to  imprison  all  the 
violators  of  the  priestly  laws,  they  might  as  well 
have  made  a  roof  over  the  whole  city,  and  written 
upon  the  doors  of  it:  "Career  Romanorum," 
the  prison  of  the  Romans.  But  soon  they  found 
a  remedy  to  divert  the  minds  of  the  people,  and 
draw  their  attention  to  some  other  object,  though 
hot  less  absurd  and  heathenish  than  the  above ; 
but  that  is  immaterial  only  if  it  serves  to  accom- 
plish the  desired  object. 

A  great  rumor  was  sounded  abroad:  "that  in 
a  certain  church,  situated  in  the  parish  of  the 
Madonna  di  Monte,  an  image  of  the  Virgin  Mary 
had  opened  its  eyes."  The  story  originated  in 
the  following  manner.    An  old,  but  pious  woman 


OF    A    VIRGIN    MARY.  89 

praying  fervently  to  that  image,  and  looking 
steadily  at  it,  she  observed,  that  the  image  was 
moving  its  eyes  toward  her;  she  immediately  in- 
formed  the  father  confessor  of  it,  who  approach- 
ed the  altar  to  ascertain  the  truth  of  the  miracle, 
and  he  saw  it  also,  so  clear,  that  there  remained 
no  doubt,  whatever,  that  the  image  did  open  its 
eyes,  and  moved  them  about  in  all  directions. 

The  reader  must  know,  that  the  church  where 
that  miraculous  image  was  to  be  found,  is  situated 
in  the  darkest  corner  of  the  city,  where  the  low- 
est populace  are  crowded  together.  It  lies  in  the 
valley  between  the  two  mounts,  Quirinum  and 
Janiculum.  It  was  not  difficult  to  make  them 
swallow  any  absurdity,  which  they  are  ready  to 
defend  with  their  blood.  The  mass  of  people 
who  assembled  in  that  section  of  the  city  was  im- 
mense. Day  and  night  the  church  was  crowded. 
I  saw  it,  when  hundreds  of  sick  folks  were  car- 
ried upon  couches  into  the  church ;  one  of  them 
particularly  attracted  my  attention;  he  was  a  tall, 
consumptive  man,  more  like  a  skeleton  than  a  liv- 
ing being,  supported  by  two  friends.  As  soon  as  he 
was  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  church,  all  the 
people  cried  as  with  one  voice :  "  Abbiate  fede  ! 
abbiate  fede!"  have  faith  J  have  faith.'  and  the 
8 


90  THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EYES,  &C. 

skeleton  left  the  shoulders  of  his  friends,  who 
supported  him,  and  advanced  with  a  firm  step  to- 
wards the  altar,  where  he  sunk  exhausted  to  the 
ground-  The  shouts,  "  have  faith  in  the  mercy 
of  the  holy  Virgin!  rise,  walk  J  be  not  discour- 
aged! and  similar  expressions  were  heard,  but 
all  was  useless.  It  was  not  difficult,  as  I  stated 
before  to  make  people  like  these  believe  every 
absurdity.  One  thing  was  worthy  of  notice,  that 
no  respectable  and  enlightened  person,  saw  the 
miracle,  not  even  all  the  priests,  but  they  said: 
"  That  men  of  bad  dispositions,  or  the  sceptic,  or 
those  who  had  not  sincerely  confessed,  or  had  no 
faith,  could  not  see  it.  "  I  have  been  one  of 
those,  whom  the  Virgin  Mary  would  not  look  at, 
though  I  was  anxious  to  see  the  miraculous 
movements  of  the  eyes  of  the  painted  picture. 
Every  movement  of  the  Virgin  Mary's  eyes  had 
its  signification.  From  the  pulpit,  like  sounds  of 
thunder  in  a  dark  night,  the  most  frightful  events 
were  predicted.  "  Prodigium  canit,  et  tristes 
denunciat  iras"  Pestilence,  famine  and  destruc- 
tion were  the  indications  of  the  moving  of  the 
eyes.  Penance !  penance !  was  the  watchword 
of  the  priests  and  monks,  as  the  only  panacea  for 
the  great  evil;  I  asked  myself,  what  is  the  differ- 


BEATIFICATION.  91 

ence  between  heathen  Rome  and  Papal  Rome  ? 
The  first  used  intrigues  to  purify  the  community 
of  perjurers;  the  second  uses  it  to  establish  a  lie. 
Heathen  Rome  had  its  temple  of  Apollo  in  which 
the  oracle  of  Delphi*  prophesied.  Papal  Rome 
lias  its  images  which  fortell  future  events. 


BEATIFICATION  OF  A  FRANCISCAN 
FRIAR. 

Like  children  who  must  be  amused  and  delight- 
ed in  the  daily  change  of  play  things,  so  Roman- 
ists are  entertained  by  their  priests,  by  a  daily 
change  of  new  amusements.  I  say  amusements, 
for  the  papal  worship  is  nothing  but  that.  We 
read  in  history  that  before  the  fall  of  heathen 
Rome,  one  could  easier  find  a  god  than  a  man  m 
the  streets.  In  papal  Rome,  there  are  more  saints 
than  inhabitants,  and  their  number  is  daily  aug- 
menting. 

Scarcely  had  the  frolic  of  the  moving  of  the 
eyes  of  the  image  ceased,  when  another  ecclesi- 
astical entertainment  was  produced.  The  Fran- 
ciscans had  a  friar  who  had  been  living  among 
them  a  hundred  years  ago,  and  who  at  that  time, 


92  BEATIFICATION. 

performed  a  great  number  of  miracles.  His  or- 
der, begged  the  sum  of  one  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars, to  have  their  brother  friar  beatified,  which 
his  holiness  Leo  XII.  granted  after  having  receiv- 
ed this  sum  as  a  fee.  At  the  same  time  we  must 
do  justice  to  the  friars;  they  were  very  careful 
not  to  collect  the  money  in  the  papal  state,  but  in 
Spain  where  the  friar  was  bom. 

A  beatification  is  not  a  daily  nor  even  an  an- 
nual occurrence  because  it  is  very  expensive.  Pro- 
testants must  not  think  that  saints  grow  like  mush- 
rooms after  a  rainy  season,  no  !  they  must  be  at 
least  a  hundred  years  old.  They  must  not  think 
that  a  saint  is  some  upstart  or  pauper;  by  no 
means;  he  must  be  able  to  pay  the  minimum  fee 
of  a  hundred  thousand  dollars,  before  he  receives 
permission  to  be  a  saint.  Being  therefore  such  a 
rare  occurrence,  it  is  no  wonder  that  young  and 
old,  rich  and  poor  turned  out  to  witness  the  exhi- 
bition. 

The  day  on  which  the  beatification  was  to  take 
place,  the  Pope  descended  from  the  Vatican  into 
the  church  of  St.  Peter's,  followed  by  the  whole 
sacred  college,  in  great  pomp  and  magnificence ; 
nothing  was  spared  which  was  calculated  to  im- 
press the  senses  of  the  immense  multitude.    The 


BEATIFICATION.  93 

bishops  were  in  their  pontifical  garments  and  cov- 
ered with  their  mitres;  the  Pope  himself  presid- 
ing as  the  supremua  cpiscopus,  or  the  bishop  of 
bishops,  had  only  the  mitre  upon  his  head;  in  that 
pompous  manner  the  mass  was  celebrated  by  the 
Pope,  and  when  he  arrived  at  that  part  where  the 
collects  of  the  saints  are  said  ;  the  Pope  [by  a 
special  bull]  declared  the  friar,  of  whom  three 
miracles  had  been  scrupulously  investigated,  to  be 
a  saint,  with  all  the  privileges  to  work  miracles 
when  and  wherever  he  pleases.1  At  the  same 
time  the  cooks  and  friars  were  very  busy  in  pre- 
paring a  good  dinner  for  the  cardinals,  prelates 
and  other  illustriors  guests.  In  the  afternoon  his 
holiness  went  in  great  pomp  to  the  church  of  the 
Franciscan  convent,  where  the  painting  of  the 
new  saint  was  exposed  for  the  adoration  of  the 
people.  He  kneeled  before  that  very  being  whom 
lie  had  created  a  saint,  and  adored  that  very  paint- 
ing, to  the  original  of  which  he  had  a  few  hours 
before  granted  the  privilege  of  saintship  and  the 
permission  to  perform  miracles.     After  the  invo- 

'Before  the  canonization  takes  pla^e,  three  miracles 
are  brought  before  the  curia  in  trial,  where  a  prelate, 
called  "  the  Devil's  Advocate"  pleads  against  them,  and 
examines  the  evidences  of  the  miracles. 


94  BEATIFICATION. 

cation  of  his  new  manufactured  saint,  his  holiness 
graciously  entered  the  convent  and  admitted  the 
whole  family  to  kiss  his  holy  foot,  or  rather  his 
holy  slipper. 

To  satisfy  the  great  mass  of  the  people  who  do 
not  understand  latin,  the  three  approved  miracles 
were  exhibited  in  painting  at  the  facade  of  St. 
Peter's,  in  order  that  they  might  see  what  had 
been  the  miracles  for  which  he  was  elevated  to 
the  glory  of  being  saint.  Among  the  largest  and 
most  conspicuous,  was  the  one  which  represents 
the  sainted  friar  seated  in  the  kitchen  of  a  tavern, 
and  warming  himself  at  the  fire  at  which  the  land- 
lady, who  had  the  reputation  of  being  a  very  un- 
charitable woman,  was  roasting  birds  for  her 
guests.  After  an  interval  of  a  short  time,  the  lady 
was  obliged  to  leave  the  kitchen,  when  the  friar 
[not  being  as  yet  a  saint]  took  the  roasted  birds 
from  the  fire,  and  after  holding  them  one  by  one 
up  in  the  air,  they  immediately  received  life,  be- 
came covered  with  feathers  and  flew  about  in  the 
kitchen.  The  woman  entering  and  seeing  that 
spectacle,  fell  upon  her  knees  and  would  have 
worshiped  him;  but  the  friar  said  unto  her: 
"  Woman  give  all  the  glory  to  the  Virgin  Mary." 


BEATIFICATION.  95 

As  a  narrator  I  will  make  no  remarks  on  this 
peculiar  case ;  my  object  is  only  to  show  the  spirit 
of  the  Roman  population,  that  they  are  not  so  ig- 
norant as  some  travellers  have  described  them, 
and  not  so  bigoted  as  they  appear. 

Scarcely  was  the  painting  displayed  to  the  eyes 
of  the  people,  when  a  general  burst  of  laughter 
filled  the  air;  even  the  ladies  who  are  not  averse 
to  the  miracles  of  friars,  considered  it  very  puerile. 
Their  disapproval  was  not  expressed  in  secret, 
but  in  the  presence  of  the  spies,  and  openly  in 
broad  day  to  the  mortification  of  the  priests.  I 
heard  it  said :  "  the  friar  has  eaten  the  roasted 
birds  and  let  fly  some  living  one  which  he  had  in 
his  large  sleeves."  Others  more  serious  asked  : 
"  What  benefit  has  that  miracle  conferred  on  the 
human  family,  for  Christianity,  or  even  for  the 
tavern  keeper?"  A  great  many  in  a  joking  man- 
ner said  :  "  that  miracle  resembled  very  much 
those  of  the  Jesuits  at  St.  Domingo,  when  they 
asked  only  [for  the  love  of  the  holy  Virgin]  a  lit- 
tle boiled  water,  which  they  poured  upon  toasted 
bread,  and  soon  the  fragrance  of  that  dish  filled 
the  house.  The  people  were  astonished,  that  the 
water  should  be  changed  into  such  delicious  food. 
They  [the  Jesuits]  told  them:  "  give  all  the  glory 


96  BEATIFICATION. 

to  the  holy  Virgin  who  performed  the  miracle  ;" 
and  in  secret  the  good  fathers  put  preserved  meat 
and  concentrated  broth  as  ingredients  of  the  mira- 
cle into  it.  Similar  anecdotes,  abounding  in  face- 
tiousness  and  wit  were  publicly  related.  I  tremb- 
led for  them ;  I  was  apprehensive  that  the  gens 
d'  arms  would  lay  hands  on  them.  But  the  dis- 
approbation being  general,  the  police  were  over- 
awed and  dared  not  touch  them  ;  otherwise  they 
would  have  been  massacred  on  the  spot. 

The  result  of  that  censure  was  not  less  humi- 
liating than  the  censure  itself.  The  next  day 
another  painting  was  placed  in  its  stead.  But  for 
all  that  the  effect  of  the  blunder  was  not  removed. 
Like  the  ass  in  the  fable,  who  clothed  himself  in 
the  dress  of  the  shepherd,  whose  long  ears  betray- 
ed him,  that  he  was  even  in  the  cloak  of  the  shep- 
herd nothing  but  an  ass.  Such  was  the  effect 
which  the  change  of  the  picture  produced. 

We  read  in  history  many  deceptions  practiced 
by  the  heathen  priests,  but  that  in  papal  Rome, 
under  the  garb  of  Christianity,  such  intrigues 
should  be  perpetrated  in  the  nineteenth  century, 
is  too  revolting  even  to  narrate.  If  the  apostle 
Paul,  who  withstood  Peter  to  his  face  in  Antioch, 
because  he  was   blamed  of  having  dissimulated 


THE  PATRIARCH  AND  THE  97 

ftnd  walked  not  uprightly,  according  to  the  gos- 
pel;1— what  would  that  apostle  say,  if  he  could 
appear  again  upon  the  palatinum,  and  see  the  in- 
trigues, deceptions  and  corruptions  of  the  so-called 
Vicar  of  Christ  in  the  so-styled  chair  of  Peter? 


THE  PATRIARCH  OF  EGYPT  AND  THE 
HORNED  PRIEST. 

The  following  is  a  narrative  which  I  published 
in  the  Lutheran  Observer  during  the  last  year,  but 
as  that  journal  is  not  read  by  Roman  Catholics,  I 
will  insert  it  here,  that  they  may  hear  something 
of  the  infallibility  of  their  supreme  pontiff. 

The  blunder  of  the  miraculous  birds  was  too 
great;  the  impression  it  left  too  strong  to  be  easily 
effaced,  they  immediately  put  forth  a  new  specta- 
cle, new  in  every  respect  in  the  history  of  Popes, 
and  I  may  safely  say  new  in  the  history  of  heath- 
en Rome. 

In  the  Propaganda  fide  are  educated  mission- 
aries for  the  countries  of  the  East;  there  are 
usually  from  seven  to  eight  hundred  pupils  in  it, 
many  of  whom  are  taken  when  nine  years  old, 

•Galat.  c.  2,  v.  11—14. 
9 


98  HORNED  PRIEST, 

and  educated  until  they  reach  their  twenty-fourths 
year.  Among  the  boys  there  educated  was  an* 
Arabian  youth,  fifteen  years  of  age,  whose  talents 
were  not  of  a  very  superior  order.  One  day  a 
letter  arrived  by  mail,  directed  to  the  Prefect  of 
the  Propaganda,  sealed  with  the  state  seal  of  the 
Pasha  of  Egypt,  in  which  His  Highness  in  a  very 
friendly  manner  complimented  his  holiness,  Pope 
Leo  the  XII.  requesting  him  to  consecrate  the 
Arabian  boy  Bishoj)  of  Alexandria.  The  Pre- 
fect of  the  Propaganda  as  soon  as  he  read  the  letter, 
ordered  his  state  carriage  to  the  Quirinal  palace, 
where  the  Pope  was  at  that  time  residing.  Leo 
received  the  message  with  delight,  he  thought  the 
riches  of  Egypt  were  already  hoarded  in  the  trea- 
sury of  the  Vatican  ;  he  immediately  convoked 
the  Sacred  College  and  desired  their  counsel  on 
that  important  subject.  Some  of  the  cardinals 
argued  in  favor  of  the  consecration,  believing  that 
the  Arabian  boy  must  be  an  illegitimate  child  of 
the  Pasha,  otherwise  he  would  not  thus  distin- 
guish a  christian  and  a  youth  with  such  honors. 
Others  argued  the  contrary  on  the  same  ground, 
as  the  councils  and  canonical  laws  strictly  forbid 
that  the  dignity  of  a  bishop  should  be  enjoyed  by 
a  bastard.     Another  irregularity  was  in  the  way  mr 


THfc  PATRIAllCH  AttD  THE  09 

the  boy  was  not  even  of  age,  and  still  more  that 
he  wns  ignorant.  But  Poniifex  omnia  potent: 
the  Pope  can  do  all  things,  even  metamorphose 
ignorant  heads  into  wise  ones,  the  boy  was,  in 
spite  of  all  the  illegalities  and  irregularities,  de- 
clared by  Leo  XII.  not  only  Bishop  but  Patriarch 
of  Egypt. 

The  priests  promulgated  it  with  great  joy ;  the 
triumph  of  Christianity,  the  advantages  of  the 
church  of  Rome,  and  the  pecuniary  profits  to  the 
holy  seat,  all  was  mentioned  that  could  swell  the 
song  of  gladness.  They  had  the  audacity  to  say 
publicly,  in  the  presence  of  ladies,  "  that  the 
Arabian  boy  was  an  illegitimate  child  of  the 
Pasha."  And  many  Roman  mothers,  [not  heath- 
en, but  christian  Roman  mothers]  envied  the  Ara- 
bian lady  the  honor  of  having  such  a  distinguish- 
ed lover.  In  short,  I  was  an  eye  witness  of  the 
consecration  as  performed  by  Pope  Leo  XII. ;  I 
saw  that  Pope  kneeling  upon  the  first  step  of  the 
altar  in  St.  Peter's  church,  to  receive  the  blessing 
of  the  boy  celebrans,  or  as  he  was  called  "the 
Boy  Patriarch,"  at  the  end  of  the  ceremony  of  the 
consecration.  In  the  history  Of  Popes,  we  never 
find  a  similar  occurrence,  that  the  Pope  himself 
should  have  consecrated  a  bishop. 


300  HORNED  PRIEST, 

The  Pope  gave  the  boy  Patriarch  a  monk  of 
the  Paolotti  as  a  secretary,  who  was  also  to  be  his 
tutor,  under  whom  he  had  to  finish  his  education, 
He  wrote  also  through  the  Secretary  of  State,  a 
complimentary  letter  to  the  Pasha  of  Egypt,  to 
inform  His  Highness  that  his  wishes  were  all  punc- 
tually fulfilled,  and  that  the  new  Patriarch  of 
Egypt  would  soon  leave  the  papal  shore  for  his 
new  destination.  The  Propaganda  fitted  out  the 
Patriarch  in  the  best  style ;  sacred  vases,  episco- 
pal ornaments  and  gifts  for  the  Pasha  were  pre- 
pared ;  a  vessel  was  chartered  in  Civita  Vecchia 
upon  which  the  boy  Patriarch  and  whole  suit 
Were  embarked. 

We  shall  leave  the  young  Patriarch  on  his  voy- 
age, and  direct  the  attention  of  the  reader  towards 
Egypt.  The  Pasha  received  the  dispatches  of 
the  Pope,  and  could  scarcely  understand  their  con- 
tents. After  a  due  examination  of  the  documents, 
the  Pasha  became  furious,  he  immediately  ordered 
the  father  of  the  boy  Patriarch  to  be  imprisoned, 
who  as  it  was  supposed  had  forged  the  signature 
of  the  Pasha,  and  was  without  any  further  inquiry 
decapitated,  and  an  order  was  issued  that  the  Pat- 
riarch with  his  whole  suit  should  meet  with  the 
same  fate,  as  soon  as  they  landed  on  the  shores  of 
Egypt. 


THE  PATRIARCH  AND  THE  101 

The  ambassadors  and  consuls  of  the  christian 
courts,  wrote  to  all  the  ports  to  inform  the  mitred 
voyager  of  the  danger  which  awaited  him.  The 
merchants  did  the  same.  Fortunately  a  contrary 
wind  drove  them  [I  do  not  exactly  remember  if 
it  was  on  the  island  of  Malta,  or  on  one  of  the 
Ionian  islands,]  where  they  received  information 
of  the  predicament  into  which  they  were  placed. 
The  monk  of  the  Paolotti  immediately  resumed 
the  authority  of  the  master  instead  of  secretary  ; 
he  ordered  the  captain  to  return,  and  treated 'the 
poor  youth  not  as  a  boy  Patriarch  but  as  a  school 
boy.  On  one  occasion  the  poor  creature  resented 
the  tyrannical  treatment  of  the  monk,  who  gave 
him  a  slap  in  the  face ;  the  servants  who  saw  it 
lost  their  respect  for  him,  so  that  the  poor  young 
man  in  a  short  time  was  driven  to  despair.  In 
that  state  of  mind,  he  determined  to  escape  upon 
an  English  vessel,  and  to  place  himself  under  the 
protection  of  the  British  flag.  If  he  would  have 
done  that  openly,  he  might  have  saved  himself; 
but  being  inexperienced  in  the  world,  [in  addition 
to  this  the  fear  of  his  monkish  tyrant,]  he  resolv- 
ed to  escape  at  night  and  take  with  him  the  sacred 
vessels  and  the  gifts,  which  he  had  for  the  Pasha 
of  Egypt.    But  a  servant  whom  he  thought  faith- 


102  HORNED  PRIEST. 

ful  betrayed  him,  and  in  the  act  of  his  escape  he 
was  taken,  and  wishing  to  hide  his  guilt,  conceal- 
ed the  sacred  vessels. 

Now  the  monk,  who  envied  the  mitre  of  the 
boy  became  the  master ;  he  put  the  poor  patriarch 
in  confinement,  chained  him  in  the  cabin,  until 
they  reached  the  port  of  Civita  Vecchia,  where 
the  monk  wrote  to  the  cardinal  Zurla,  the  Vicar 
of  the  Pope,  intimating  to  him  that  he  would  not 
leave  the  vessel,  until  His  Holiness  recompensed 
him  for  the  faithful  services  he  had  performed, 
and  the  dangers  he  had  encountered  for  the  wel- 
fare of  the  church.  The  Pope  was  obliged  to 
give  him  the  mitre,  in  order  to  stop  the  mouth  of 
the  monk. 

Now  in  order  to  bring  the  victim  to  Rome  with- 
out incurring  the  ridicule  of  the  people,  the  Pope, 
and  the  sacred  college  to  cover  their  blunder  and 
ignorance,  invented  a  story  of  which  Satan  him- 
self would  be  ashamed.  It  was  related  as  a  pos- 
itive fact,  by  the  priests  in  the  confessional,  as 
well  as  in  society,  in  the  pulpit  as  well  as  in  the 
streets :  "  That  in  a  certain  village,  a  poor  wo- 
man was  to  be  buried,  but  that  the  parish  priest, 
who  was  very  avaricious,  would  not  perform  the 
burial,  because  her  children  could  not  pay  the  fee. 


THE  PATRIARCH,  &C.  103 

Two  of  her  sons  were  obliged  to  dig  the  oravc 
in  the  night,  where  they  found  a  treasure ;  the 
next  day  they  came  to  the  priest  paying  him  the 
fee,  and  also  a  sum  for  a  number  of  masses., 
■which  the  priest  was  to  celebrate  for  the  soul  of 
the  deceased,  to  be  delivered  from  the  pains  of 
Purgatory.  The  priest  asked  them  from  whence 
ihey  received  the  money;  they  revealed  to  him 
the  fact  of  having  found  a  treasure.  The  priest 
wishing  to  rob  them  of  it,  took  the  fresh  hide  of 
an  ox,  and  covered  himself  with  it,  so  as  to  ap- 
pear as  the  devil,  in  order  to  frighten  the  poor 
boys.  But  when  he  returned  with  the  treasure, 
and  was  about  to  undress  himself,  lo  !  the  horns 
of  the  ox's  hide  remaided  fixed  upon  his  head,  and 
that  on  the  morrow  night,  the  horned  priest  would 
be  brought  into  the  city,  and  placed  in  the  prison  of 
the  Inquisition.  So  it  was  ;  a  close  carriage  ac- 
companied by  gens  d'  arms  in  which  the  poor 
boy  Patriarch  was  placed,  and  was  brought  into 
the  prison  of  the  Inquisition  under  the  name  of 
the  horned  priest,  drove  into  the  city.  There  he 
was  tortured,  in  the  presence  of  the  students  of 
the  Propaganda,  dispatriarchized  and  condemn- 
ed to  death  ;  but  Pope  Leo  XII.  graciously  com- 
muted the  sentence  of  death  into  imprisonment 
for  life  in  the  Fort  of  St.  Leo, 


104  INFALLIBILITY. 

If  my  Roman  Catholic  brethren  could  know 
all  the  intrigues  and  strategeins,  which  are  re- 
sorted to  in  the  church  of  Rome,  in  order  to 
be  made  prelates,  they  would  blush  to  call  them 
shepherds.  It  is  a  proverbial  saying  in  Rome : 
"To  become  a  prelate  you  must  have  one  of  the 
three  devils  to  aid  you.  You  must  have  a  white 
devil,  or  a  yellow  devil,  or  a  red  devil.  The 
white  devil  is  the  protection  of  a  woman ;  the 
yellow  is  gold  ;  and  the  red,  the  protection  of  a 
cardinal.  The  narrative  of  the  above  stated  fact, 
needs  no  comment,  no  parallel  even  in  heathen 
history  is  to  be  found.  The  council  of  the  infer- 
nal recesses  could  not  produce,  nor  invent  a  more 
execrable  falsehood,  to  blindfold  the  eyes  of  men 
in  order  to  destroy  their  souls. 


INFALLIBILITY  OF  THE  POPE. 

In  the  face  of  such  inconsistencies  of  the  Pope, 
blunders  of  the  sacred  college,  corruptions  of  the 
priests,  and  intrigues  of  the  monks,  it  was  no 
wonder  that  I  began  to  doubt  the  infallibility  of 
the  Pope,  and  to  inquire  upon  what  grounds  the 
pretended  infallibility  is  based.     The  Pope  legit- 


INFALLIBILITY.  105 

imatcd  the  Arabian  boy,  and  removed  all  the  dis- 
abilities arising  from  his  unfitness  on  account  of 
his  presumed  ignoble  birth,  by  a  special  dispen- 
sation, ordained  the  boy,  who  had  not  yet  arrived 
at  the  canonical  age,  and  invested  him  with  the 
power  to  confer  sacred  orders  on  others.  He 
dispenses  the  monastic  orders  from  submis- 
sion to  the  diocesan  bishops,  absolving  faithful 
subjects  from  the  obedience  to  their  legitimate 
sovereign,  children  from  all  obligations  towards 
their  parents.  These  were  the  subjects  which 
occupied  my  mind,  and  became  a  matter  of  close 
investigation.  How  can  the  Pope  dispense  chil- 
dren from  submission  to  their  parents  without  an- 
nulling the  ten  commandments  of  God  ?  How 
can  he  dispense  the  servant  from  obedience  to  his 
master  without  subverting  social  order?  How 
can  he  authorize  subjects  to  break  the  sacred  ties 
which  bind  them  to  their  sovereign,  with  impuni- 
ty? How  can  he  withdraw  the  sheep  from  the 
flock,  without  exposing  them  to  the  danger  of  be- 
ing destroyed  by  the  wolf?  How  can  he  dis- 
pense the  members  of  the  monastic  orders  from 
their  obedience  to  the  diocesan  bishops,  without 
destroying  the  order  of  the  hierarchy  ?  These 
and  similar  contradictory  acts,  which  have  been 


106  INFALLIBILITY. 

the  cause  of  so  much  blood-shed,  gave  rise  in  my 
mind  to  the  inquiry  of  the  assumed  infallibility  of 
the  Pope. 

I  took  the  Bible,  searched  the  whole  New  Tes- 
tament, in  order  to  support  the  papal  power ;  I 
say  support,  because  my  intention  was  not  to 
leave  the  church  of  Rome.  The  infallible  pow- 
er of  the  church  through  her  head,  the  Pope,  was 
the  only  link  which  chained  me  to  it,  and  it  is  a 
very  powerful  one. 

The  passage:  "Thou  art  Peter,  and  upon 
this  rock  I  will  build  my  church,  and  the  gates  of 
hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it;"  and  that  pas- 
sage, "  Lo  I  am  with  you  always,  even  to  the 
end  of  the  world;"  were  not  sufficient  for  me, 
upon  which  to  base  such  an  unlimited  power  ;  I 
could  not  see  in  them  that  the  Lord  spoke  of 
Popes,  because  Peter  had  the  privilege  of  being 
the  first  of  the  apostles,  he  was  not  thereby  ap- 
pointed a  Pope,  nor  had  he  a  successor.  To  sat- 
isfy my  conscience  by  examining  the  direct  line 
of  apostolical  succession  was  too  delicate,  and 
even  superfluous  for  a  Roman,  who  had  been  ac- 
quainted with  the  son  of  Pius  VII.  and  read  the 
letters  which  he  had  received  from  his  father, 
written  to  his  mother  when  cardinal  Chiara  Monte; 


INFALLIBILITY.  107 

a  Roman,  who  had  a  personal  acquaintance  with 
the  Pope  Leo  XII.  when  a  cardinal,  knowing  him 
to  be  a  gambler,  licentious,  and  even  debauched. 
One  who  was  acquainted  with  the  scandalous  his- 
tory of  immoral  succession  in  the  papal  seat,  was 
not  much  disposed,  nor  did  not  feel  it  so  neces- 
sary to  investigate  that  subject. 

As  my  intention  is  not  to  reveal,  but  to  give 
only  the  grounds  of  my  doubts  of  the  apostolical 
succession  at  that  time,  I  will  state  that  I  examin- 
ed the  fathers  of  the  church  and  viewed  the  mat- 
ter in  the  light  of  sound  reason. 

In  that  conflict  I  sought  for  the  opinions  of  en- 
lightened authors  as  Origin,  Eusebius,  Hieroni- 
mus,  Chrisostomus,  Isidor,  Baronius  and  Tertu- 
lian,  which  I  carefully  read  and  studied  on  that 
subject.  I  found  that  after  the  Holy  Spirit  had 
descended  upon  the  apostles,  they  dispersed  into 
all  parts  of  the  world,  and  preached  the  gospel  to 
all  nations.  St.  Peter  preached  in  Judea,  in  An- 
tioch,  in  Capadocia,  in  Bithanien,  and  according 
to  the  tradition  of  the  papal  church  also  in  Rome. 
St.  James,  son  of  Zebedce,  preached  also  in  Ju- 
dea and  in  Spain.  St.  John  in  Asia  Minor.  St. 
Andrew  in  Scythia,  in  Thracia  and  in  Achaja. 
St.  James,  the  brother  of  our  Lord  preached  in 


108  ANTIQ.UITY. 

Jerusalem.  St.  Phillip  also  in  Scythia  and  Phry- 
gia.  St.  Bartholomew  in  Judea  and  Armenia. 
St.  Matthew  in  Ethiopia.  St.  Thomas  pieached 
in  Parthia  Medea,  in  Persia  and  among  the  Brach- 
mans,  Hircaniens  and  other  nations.  St.  Simon 
preached  also  in  Persia  and  Mesopotamea.  St. 
Jude  in  Egypt.  St.  Matthew  in  the  upper  part  of 
Ethiopia.  The  apostle  Paul  and  Barnabas  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  Europe  and  Asia ;  none  of  them 
had  been  subject  to  the  others,  not  even  under  the 
direction  of  one  another,  much  less  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  apostle  Peter. 

As  the  church  of  Rome  bases  her  infallible 
power  upon  her  antiquity,  Catholicity,  and  apos- 
tolical succession,  I  purpose  examining  each  of 
them  separately. 

If  the  authority  of  antiquity  be  conceded  as  a 
test  of  its  infallibility  to  any  church,  it  ought  to 
be  to  that  of  Jerusalem,  because  that  church  was 
founded  by  our  Saviour  himself.  There  the  ever- 
lasting gospel  was  heard  from  the  lips  which  spake 
as  never  man  spake  ;  there  he  exercised  his  high 
sacerdotal  power  and  episcopal  office  ;  there  he 
offered  himself  up  as  a  ransom  for  our  sins  and 
for  the  sins  of  the  world.  There  the  operations 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  were  manifested  on  the  first 


ANTiaUITY,  109 

day  of  Pentecost.  Jerusalem  was  called  by  the 
ancient  writers,  "  the  mother  of  all  other  church- 
es."1 Even  Antioch  has  greater  claims  than  Rome 
for  the  primacy,  if  ever  a  primacy  should  exist, 
being  the  first  church  the  apostle  Peter  governed, 
and  where  the  disciples  were  called  christians  for 
the  Jirst  time  ;2  which  Chrisostomus  calls  :  "the 
capital  of  the  christian  world."3 

If  the  mother  is  older  than  the  daughter ;  the 
source  older  than  the  stream  from  which  it  flows ; 
the  Greek  church  has  certainly  the  claim  to  be 
the  oldest ;  being  founded  by  the  apostle  Paul  and 
St.  Andrew,  from  which  the  spirit  of  Christianity 
flowed  as  from  a  sacred  fountain,  and  extended 
over  many  nations  and  kingdoms.  Another  very 
important  historical  consideration  convinced  me 
that  Rome  has  no  claim  of  primacy  upon  the 
ground  of  her  antiquity,  because  the  history  of 
the  councils  themselves  testify  that  the  church  of 
Rome  received  the  New  Testament,  the  creed  of 
the  apostles,  that  of  Nice  and  that  of  Athanasia 
from  the  Greek  church,  and  that  until  the  time  of 

}Theod.  Hist.  lib.  v.  chap.  9,  atque  in  lib.  4,  ann. 
382,  etiam  Banmius  ad  annum  382. 

2Acts  of  the  Apost.  chap.  11,  v.  26. 

3Chrisost.  Hum.  3  ad  populum  Antioch. 


110  ANTiaUITY. 

Bishop  Britontius.1  The  council  of  Trent  itself 
recognized  her  as  the  mother  of  the  church  of 
Rome. 

Having  found  nothing  in  the  writings  of  the 
fathers  and  ancient  historians,  which  gave  the 
church  of  Rome  any  title  to  that  boasted  antiquity 
of  which  she  vaunts  so  much,  I  begun  to  reason 
with  myself  in  this  way.  If  the  doctrines  and 
the  practices  of  the  church  of  Rome  are  anti* 
scriptural,  wTill  they  become  better  when  they 
number  five  hundred  or  more  years  existence? 
Or  is  the  truth  less  truth,  because  it  cannot  show 
that  it  has  been  acknowledged  centuries  ago  ?  If 
a  man  would  build  a  house  upon  the  land  of  his 
neighbor,  without  having  any  title  to  that  lands 
can  he  claim  that  property  as  his  own,  because  he 
intruded  upon  the  rights  of  his  neighbor  for  many 
years  ?  So  it  is  with  the  truth.  If  an  error  is 
received  and  accredited  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world,  will  a  long  series  of  years  give  any  advan- 
tage and  weight  to  that  error  ?  or  give  a  right  to 
those  who  believe  it,  to  remain  in  that  error  fof 
no  other  reason  than  because  it  is  an  old  establish- 
ed error  1  Certainly  not.  Error  can  never  change 
into  truth  even  though  it  exists  until  the  end  of 

'Hist.  Concilii. 


ANTiaUlTY.  1 1 1 

the  world,  but  rather  crcscit  eundo,  like  a  chronic 
ilisea.se  which  increases  in  malignity  in  proportion, 
as  it  approximates  to  its  consummation  ;  thus  it 
is  with  the  pretended  antiquity  of  the  church  of 
Rome. 

It  is  certain  that  the  heathen  are  the  most  an- 
cient worshippers  of  their  idols ;  who  will  contend 
that  because  their  idolatrous  worship  is  the  most 
ancient,  it  is  the  most  true  and  infallible  ?  Is  it 
probable  that  the  primitive  christians  ever  advanc- 
ed such  an  argument  to  the  heathen,  that  the  most 
ancient  religion  is  the  most  true?  Would  the 
heathen  not  have  boasted  of  the  antiquity  of  their 
worship  ?  But  we  read  the  contrary,  St,  Cyprian 
says :  "  that  antiquity  has  no  influence  in  religi- 
ous matters  if  it  is  not  accompanied  with  the 
truth"  l  To  show  that  the  ancient  prevalence  of 
idolatry  is  nothing  but  an  error  of  antiquity,  he 
adds  :  "  if  an  error  would  be  sanctioned  because 
it  claims  antiquity,  no  crime  would  be  too  little 
which  could  be  committed  without  impunity,  for 
the  thief  would  say  that  my  ancestors  were  also 
thieves  and  corrupt." 

That  such  a  doctrine  upon  which  the  church  of 
Home  builds  her  infallibility  was  not  known  to 

'Cyprian  Epist   74,  cont.  idolati. 


112  ANTiaUITY. 

the  prophets,  is  evident  from  the  words  of  the 
prophet  Jeremiah,1  when  he  reproached  the  Jews 
for  their  sinfulness,  and  called  them  to  repentance, 
he  says  :  "  thou  art  Gilead  unto  me  and  the  head 
of  Lebanon  ;  yet  surely  I  will  make  thee  a  wil- 
derness and  cities  which  are  not  inhabited.  And 
I  will  prepare  destroyers  against  thee,  every  one 
with  his  weapons,  and  they  shall  cut  down  thy 
choice  cedars  and  cast  them  into  the  fire.  And 
many  nations  shall  pass  by  this  city ;  and  they 
shall  say  every  man  to  his  neighbor,  wherefore 
hath  the  Lord  done  thus  unto  this  great  city  ? 
Then  they  shall  answer,  because  they  have  for- 
saken the  covenant  of  the  Lord  their  God  and 
worshiped  other  gods  and  served  them."  This 
clearly  shows  that  the  kings,  priests,  and  the  peo- 
ple had  no  right  to  continue  in  sin,  to  despise  God 
and  his  holy  word,  because  they  had  despised  it 
for  a  long  time.  Our  Saviour  himself  preached 
against  that  principle,  and  maintained  that  the  an- 
tiquity of  a  thing  is  no  proof  of  its  being  truth. 
For  when  the  scribes  and  pharisees  gloried  in 
Abraham,  who  was  their  father,  he  told  them  that 
their  genealogy  extends  still  further  back,  that 
they  are  children  of  the  devil. 

'Jeremiah,  chap.  22,  v.  6.   Ibid.  chap.  32,  v.  30-35. 


ANTIQUITY.  113 

The  church  of  Rome  condemns  iny  reasoning. 
She  says;  "The  infallibility  of  the  church  of 
Rome  is  a  doctrine  of  faith."  I  must  believe  it,  be- 
cause the  church  says  it,  and  because  the  church 
who  is  the  oldest  of  all  other  churches,  believes 
it.  Here  I  must  confess,  that  on  that  point  I  am 
a  rationalist.  Suppose  some  one  has  to  make  a 
payment  to  a  merchant,  and  gives  him  certain 
coins,  of  which  the  merchant  knows  not  the  val- 
ue, can  that  man  condemn  the  merchant  if  he  en- 
deavors to  find  out  the  intrinsic  value,  by  weigh- 
ing the  gold  pieces  1  Or  if  he  tries  it,  in  order 
to  assure  himself  if  it  be  pure  gold  ?  Would 
that  be  sufficient  reason  for  the  merchant,  if  the 
other  would  say :  "  It  is  a  very  ancient  coin,  it 
lias  been  preserved  in  the  family  for  several  cen- 
turies?" Certainly  not.  The  merchant  would 
say,  "  This  may  be  all  true,  but  there  are  many 
ancient  coins,  which  are  false."  Suppose  that 
man  would  insist,  and  condemn  the  merchant  for 
not  believing  in  his  word,  and  trusting  in  his  in- 
tegrity. Would  the  merchant  not  have  good  rea- 
son to  suspect  the  sincerity  of  such  a  man  ?  Thus 
it  was  with  me,  when  I  read  the  canons  of  the 
council  of  Trent,  and  they  said,  "  That  whoso- 
ever denies  the  infallibility  of  the  church  of  Rome, 
10 


114  ANTIQUITY. 

let  him  be  accursed.'''     I  suspected  the  truth  of 
that  doctrine,  and  had  good  reason  to  doubt  it. 

But  the  church  of  Rome  teaches:  "  That  the- 
bishops,  who  are  the  legitimate  pastors  of  the 
church  receive  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  is  the  spirit 
of  truth,  therefore  they  can  not  err."  I  will  not 
employ  my  reason  with  regard  to  the  Holy  Spir- 
it, but  submit  my  reason  to  the  living  AVord  of 
God,  which  teaches  me  that  the  doctrine  of  the 
church  of  Rome,  by  limiting  the  Spirit  of  God 
only  to  the  bishops,  is  false  ;  because  St.  James 
says  :L  "  If  any  of  you  lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask 
of  God,  that  giveth  to  all  men  liberally,  and  up- 
braideth  not,  and  it  shall  be  given  him."  That 
again  shows  that  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Spirit  of 
wisdom  is  given  not  only  to  the  bishops,  but  also 
to  all  men,  who  will  ask  for  it.  My  dear  Roman 
Catholic  brethren  see,  that  it  was  not,  and  is  not 
the  spirit  of  protestantism,  which  directs  my  pen, 
but  the  love  of  truth  and  of  your  immortal 
souls,  and  above  all  to  show  you  how  the  Spirit 
of  God  enlightened  my  mind. 

'Ep.  James  c.  i.  v.  5. 


CATHOLICITY  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF 
ROME. 

The  Church  of  Rome  glories  in  the  name, 
Catholic  (universal)  church.  She  boasts  of  the 
multitude  of  believers  in  her  doctrine.  I  heard 
from  my  youth  the  loudest  panegyrics  upon  the 
numerous  conversions,  and  believers  in  her  doc- 
trines. I  thought  if  that  is  really  the  case,  it 
would  show,  that  it  is  accompanied  by  the  out- 
pouring of  the  Spirit  of  God.  With  these  feel- 
ings I  searched  the  statistics  of  the  world,  to  see 
if  that  boasted  multitude  be  really  so  great. 

I  found  that  the  population  of  the  world  is 
eight  hundred  and  five  millions  of  souls,  of  which 
those  who  profess  Christianity,  taking  all  denomi- 
nations together,  are  two  hundred  and  twenty 
millions  of  souls.  I  separated  the  chaff  from  the 
wheat,  the  heretics  and  schismatics  from  the  pa- 
pists, and  found  that  the  numbers  of  the  Papal 
church  are  much  smaller,  than  those  of  the  Greek 
church,  and  not  as  much  as  those  of  the  Protest- 
ants in  the  world. 

In  Asia  the  christians  are  numerous,  but  few 
recognize  the  authority  of  the  Pope.     The  chris- 


116  CATHOLICITY  OF  THE 

tians  in  Palestine  are  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Patriarch  of  Jerusalem,  The  Armenians  and 
Georgians,  have  their  own  patriarch.  The  Cir- 
cassians, and  those  of  Asia  Minor  are  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople. 
The  Jacobites,  and  all  the  other  tribes  this  side, 
and  on  the  other  side  of  the  Caucasus  have  their 
own  Patriarch,  and  are  by  no  means  under  the 
power  of  the  Pope. 

The  South  of  Africa  belongs  to  the  Protest- 
ant Episcopal  Church  of  England.  The  Chris- 
tians of  Egypt,  and  the  Cophts  are  under  the  Pa- 
triarch of  Alexandria.  The  Ethiopians,  and 
Abyssynians  have  their  own  Patriarch,  and  have 
not  submitted  to  the  authority  of  the  Pope  of 
Rome. 

America.  The  north  of  it  is  nearly  all  Pro- 
testants, though  the  immigration  from  Ireland  and 
Austria  overflows  the  Union,  still  the  Protestant 
immigration  overbalances  it,  and  it  can  with  cer- 
tainty be  styled  a  Protestant  country. 

Europe;  where  Rome  once  deposed  kings, 
and  obliged  them  to  come  barefooted,  and  with 
uncovered  heads  to  the  door  of  the  Vatican,  has 
nearly  deserted  her.  Russia  has  not  recognized 
her.     Moldavia,   Croatia,  and   Valachia  belong 


CHURCH    OF  ROME.  117 

to  the  Greek  church.  England,  Denmark,  Swee- 
den,  Holland,  Prussia,  Darmstadt,  Curhessen, 
and  all  the  other  small  principalities  are  Protest- 
ants. France  rejected  the  authority  of  the  Pope, 
and  assumed  the  name  Gallican  church.  We  see 
that  Rome  has  no  more  to  boast  of  her  Catholici- 
ty, than  it  has, of  her  antiquity. 

The  above  facts,  strong  as  they  are,  were  not 
sufficient  to  obliterate  an  impression,  which  had 
been  made  from  my  youth ;  I  thought  it  my  duty 
to  examine  the  fathers,  and  make  use  of  my  own 
reason  and  judgment. 

If  we  establish  the  principle,  that  the  multitude 
is  a  sign  of  an  infallible  and  true  church  of  God, 
we  must  conclude,  that  in  the  time  of  Enoch  and 
Abraham,  there  was  no  true  church  upon  the 
earth ;  that  in  the  time  of  our  Saviour  and  the 
apostles,  there  was  no  true  church  in  existence; 
and  even  when  anti-christ  shall  come,  there  will 
be  no  true  church,  and  what  is  more  horrible  to 
think,  that  the  church  of  anti-Christ  will  be  the 
only  true  one ;  and  in  the  time  of  the  persecution, 
the  martyrs  and  confessors  did  not  constitute  the 
true  church,  but  the  Jews  did,  who  crucified  our 
Saviour.  This  would  be  the  natural  consequence 
if  we  receive  the  principle,  upon  which  the  church 
of  Rome  bases  her  infallibility. 


118  CATHOLICITY   OF  THE 

St.  Augustine  says  -,1  "  That  there  was  a  time 
when  the  true  church  had  been  included  in  the 
person  of  Abel,  and  in  another  period  in  the  fam- 
ily of  Noah." 

In  the  time  of  the  Arians,  Theodosius  says  :2 
That  the  Emperor  Constantinus  spoke  of  Athan- 
asius  as  being  one  of  the  greatest  wretches  upon 
the  earth.  "  Who  art  thou  (said  the  Emperor  to 
Liberius)  that  thou  comest  with  that  wretch,  to 
trouble  the  rest  of  the  earth?" 

St.  Hilarius  reports  :3  That  in  the  whole  Pro- 
vince of  Asia,  there  was  only  the  bishop  Eleu- 
sius  with  a  very  small  number  of  persons,  who 
remained  firm  in  the  truth. 

St.  Hieronimus  affirms:4  That  in  the  whole 
of  Orient,  there  was  only  Athanasius,  and 
Paulinus,  with  very  few,  who  have  not  followed 
the  heresy  of  Arms ;  that  the  true  church  has  not 
been  composed  by  Arius;  and  the  multitude  of 
his  followers,  but  by  the  very  few,  viz.  Athana- 
sius and  Paulinus.     The  answer  of  Liberius  to 

'Augustin.  Enaratio  in  ps.  128. 
2Theodosius  Hist.  Lib.  II. 
3Hilar.  cont.  Auxent. 
4Hieron.  cap.  58,  adv.  Lucif. 


CHURCH    OF  ROME.  119 

the  Emperor  Constantinus  will  settle  the  whole 
controversy.  "  The  word  of  faith  (says  Liberius) 
is  not  diminished  by  the  small  number  who  pro- 
fess it,  even  if  it  would  be  limited  to  one  per- 
son."1 And  according  to  the  testimony  of  Ter- 
tulius,  who  says:2  "It  is  not  the  great  number  of 
bishops  who  form  the  church,  because  the  church 
can  be  contained  in  one  person." 

St.  Gregorius  adds:3  "  TYlio  are  those  who  de- 
fine the  true  church  by  the  multitude  ?  They 
have  the  multitude,  we  have  the  faith;  they  have 
the  gold  and  silver  in  abundance,  but  we  have 
the  true  doctrine."  It  is  evident,  that  the  true 
church  at  that  time  was  not  composed  of  the  mul- 
titude. And  when  anti-Christ  shall  come  (accord- 
ing to  the  testimony  of  our  Saviour,)  who  says 
in  the  Gospel  of  Luke,  chap,  xviii.  8,  "  When 
the  Son  of  man  cometh  shall  he  find  faith?1' — 
That  convinces  me,  that  when  the  impious  here- 
sy of  anti-Christ  shall  reign  in  the  church,  there 
will  be  no  other  proof  of  Christianity,  no  other 
refuge  for  the  christian,  than  the  Bible,  which  is 

'Theod.  unde  Supra. 

sTertul.  Lib  de  poenit,  chap.  x. 

3Gregor.  Oratio  25,  Cont.  Arianum. 


120  APOSTOLICAL     SUCCESSION. 

the  Word  of  God.  That  the  multitude  will  fol- 
low error,  and  the  true  church  will  be  limited  to 
a  small  flock,  who  will  have  no  other  arms  against 
the  strategems  and  persecutions  of  anti-Christ, 
than  the  arms  of  God. 


THE  APOSTOLICAL  SUCCESSION  AS  A 
PROOF  OF  THE  INFALLIBILITY  OF 
THE  CHURCH  OF  ROME. 

I  must  confess,  that  at  the  time,  with  all  these 
evidences  before  me,  with  all  these  proofs  of  anti- 
scriptural  practices,  and  heathenish  worship  before 
my  eyes,  I  could  not  divest  myself  of  a  strong 
attachment  to  the  church  of  Rome;  having  the 
strong  impression  of  the  apostolical  succession,  I 
thought  she  must  be  infallible.  But  how  differ- 
ent were  my  feelings  after  a  strict  examination  of 
my  Bible,  and  the  fathers  on  that  important  point. 

Admitting  that  the  church  of  Rome  has  really 
an  apostolical  succession,  would  that  give  her  a 
right  to  the  assumption  of  infallible  power  ?  For 
if  any  church  in  the  world  has  a  right  to  boast  of 
an  apostolical  succession  it  is  the  church  of  Jerusa- 
lem. We  read  in  the  Psalms.1    "As  the  mountains 

'Ps.  125,  v.  2. 


APOSTOLICAL  SUCCESSION.  12>1 

*   are  round  about  Jerusalem,  so  the  Lord  is  round 
about  his  people  from  henceforth,  even  forever." 
These  were  the  promises  upon  which  the  priests 
in  the  Old  Testament  relied,  and  these  very  pro- 
mises gave  rise  to  prejudices,  so  that  every  mo- 
ment they  exclaimed:  "the  people  of  the  Lord; 
the  tempel  of  the  Lord  are   we,  &c."     But  the 
Lord  answered  them  r1  "  Trust  ye  not  in  lying 
words,  saying :  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  the  tem- 
ple of  the  Lord,  the  temple  of  the  Lord  are  we. 
For  if  you   truly  amend  your  ways  and  your 
doings ;  if  you  truly  execute  judgment  between 
a   man   and   his   neighbor;    if    ye   oppress   not 
the  stranger,  the  fatherless  and  the  widow,  and 
shed  not  innocent  blood  in  this  place,  neither  walk 
after  other  gods  to  your  hurt;  then  will  I  cause 
you  to  dwell  in  this  place,  in  the  land  that  I  gave 
to  your  fathers,  for  ever  and  ever.     Behold  ye 
trust  in   lying   words   that  cannot  profit,  &c." 
Though  Jerusalem  has  been  favored  by  God  as  a 
tabernacle  of  his  own  dwelling,  the  judgment  of 
the  Lord  has  been  notwithstanding  executed,  be- 
cause of  their  abominations."" 

'Jeremiah,  chap.  7,  v.  4 — 15. 
2Jerem.  chap.  5  and  6. 
11 


122  APOSTOLICAL  SUCCESSION. 

If  Zion  has  ceased  to  be  the  house  of  God;  if 
Jerusalem,  the  city  of  the  Lord  has  been  reduced 
to  a  solitude,  the  altars  laid  waste  and  made  deso- 
late ;  what  has  the  church  of  Rome  to  boast  of 
being  the  cradle  of  martyrs,  and  the  nurse  of  con- 
fessors and  saints?  She  ought  rather  to  tremble 
at  the  abominations  with  which  she  is  filled,  the 
errors  with  which  she  is  infected,  the  scandles 
which  their  Popes  have  been  to  the  universe  ;  is 
it  not  a  wonder,  that  long  ere  this  it  has  not  been 
reduced  to  the  dust  like  Jerusalem,  and  become  a 
den  of  thieves  and  robbers,  a  horrible  Babylon,  a 
terrible  solitude?  Is  it  not  a  wonder  that  Rome, 
which  has  been  founded  with  fratricide  j1  popu- 
lated by  rapine;2  whose  morals  are  filthy  like  her 
streets,  and  in  her  avarice  selling  the  cross  of 
Christ,  wherever  she  finds  a  purchaser,3  yet  exists 
upon  the  surface  of  the  earth  ? 

1Hist.  of  Rome,  where  Romulus  killed  his  brother 
Remus  atter  having  founded  the  city  of  the  world,  in 
order  to  be  the  sole  governor  of  it. 

-Ibid.  The  stratagem  of  the  Romans,  of  making  a 
feast,  and  inviting  the  Sabine  women,  and  then  shutting 
the  gates  of  the  city  against  their  husbands  and  lovers, 
in  order  to  populate  the  city. 

*The  relic  of  the  cross  is  very  dear,  that  is  the  rea- 
son that  it  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  poor  man's  house 
as  the  rags  and  bones  of  the  saints  are. 


ArOSTOLICAL  SUCCESSION.  123 

I  remember  when  I  resided  in  Florence,  the 
capitol  of  Tuscany,  where  I  had  nothing  to  fear 
from  the  holy  inquisition,  I  had  a  friendly  contro- 
versy with  an  enlightened  priest  of  the  church  of 
Rome ;  I  showed  him  the  anti-evangelical  doc- 
trines and  practices  of  the  church,  the  immorality 
of  the  Cardinals  and  Popes,  of  whom  we  must 
blush,  when  we  think  that  such  men  pretend  to 
bind  and  to  loose  our  conscience.  He  said  :  "all 
that  you  say  is  truth,  and  as  a  reply  to  your  ar- 
guments, I  will  read  a  novel  of  Bocaccio."  The 
contents  of  the  novel  are  as  follows: 

A  christian  had  a  bosom  friend,  who  was  a  Jew, 
the  latter  was  a  just  and  an  upright  man  ;  but  the 
christian  constantly  urged  his  friend  to  become  a 
christian,  the  Jew  always  refused  to  consent,  until 
one  day,  he  said:  "I  will  go  to  Rome  and  see 
how  your  Cardinals  and  Pope  act  and  live ;  if 
their  life  correspond  with  the  doctrine  they  preach, 
I  will  become  a  christian."  The  christian  instead 
of  rejoicing  lost  all  his  hope,  for  he  thought,  if  he 
went  to  Rome  and  saw  all  those  corruptions,  he 
never  would  become  a  christian,  and  persuaded 
him  not  to  go  so  far,  as  he  might  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  do  it  at  the  place  where  he  was  :  but  all 
in  vain,  he  undertook  the  journey,  and  in  a  short 


124  APOSTOLICAL  SUCCESSION. 

time  the  christian  received  a  letter  from  his  friend, 
that  he  had  been  already  baptized.  He  could  not 
imagine  what  it  was  that  induced  him  to  take  that 
step,  as  he  knew  the  integrity  of  his  friend,  and 
the  strict  morality  of  his  sentiments,  and  was  ac- 
quainted with  the  corruptions  of  the  priests.  As 
soon  as  his  friend  returned,  he  asked  him  the  par- 
ticulars, who  told  him,  saying :  "  I  saw  all  the 
corruptions  and  abominations  which  ever  an  eye 
can  see,  and  still  your  religion  exists ;  it  must  be 
of  God."  Such  are  the  arguments,  which  the 
Roman  priests  use,  when  the  truth  is  forcibly  pre- 
sented to  them.  Such  are  the  grounds  upon  which 
they  build  the  infallibility  of  their  church. 

Let  us  now  recur  again  to  history  and  reason. 
If  an  apostolical  succession  can  confer  the  privil- 
ege of  infallibility  upon  a  church,  as  the  church 
of  Rome  maintains,  the  heretics  of  the  third  cen- 
tury had  the  same  claim ;  for  Paul  of  Samosate, 
was  the  legitimate  Bishop  and  Patriarch  of  Anti- 
och,  he  was  succeeded  by  Demetrius,  tnen  fol- 
lowed Fabius,  then  Babilas ;  Babilas  was  succeed- 
ed by  Zebidus,  then  by  Philetus,  then  Aselpiades, 
then  Serapion,  Serapion  by  Maximin,  Theophile, 
then  followed  Cornelius,  then  Hero,  tbea  succeed- 
ed Ignatio,  then  Evodius,  all  of  whom  have  been 


APOSTOLICAL    DOCTRINES.  125 

legitimate  successors  of  Peter.  We  may  as  well 
say,  that  in  the  fifth  century  [according  to  the 
reasonings  and  pretensions  of  Rome]  all  those 
who  embraced  the  heresy  of  Nestorius,  were  un- 
der an  infallible  head,  because  their  heresiarch 
was  a  legitimate  successor  of  Sisinus  ;  successor 
of  Attique  ;  of  Arsace  ;  of  St.  Chrisostome ;  of 
Nectarius ;  of  Gregory  Nazianzeno  ;  and  accord- 
ing to  the  chronicle  of  Nicefore,  Nestorius  was 
the  thirty-sixth  bishop  of  those  who  successively 
occupied  the  episcopal  chair  after  the  apostle  St. 
Andrew.  After  such  historical  grounds,  Avho  can 
receive  an  apostolical  succession  as  a  proof  of  its 
infallibility*  ? 


THE  APOSTOLICAL  DOCTRINES  AND 
NOT  THE  CHAIR,  ARE  REQUIRED  AS 
A  MARK  OF  A  TRUE  CHURCH. 

It  is  true  that  the  fathers  often  used  the  argu- 
ments of  an  uninterrupted  succession  against 
heretics,  but  that  of  doctrine  and  not  of  persons. 
So  did  Tertulius  in  his  time.  So  did  Optat  against 
the  Donatists.  St.  Augustine  against  the  Mani- 
cheans ;  Pelagiens  and  the  Ariens.  Tertulius 
calls  the  apostolical  succession :  '« a  consangui- 


126  APOSTOLICAL    DOCTRINES. 

nity  or  an  affinity  of  doctrines.''"  He  uses  the 
following  language :  "  They  [^speaking  of  the 
heretics]  may  show  a  succession  of  bishops  from 
the  beginning  of  Christianity,  but  cannot  show  a 
succession  of  doctrine  in  conformity  with  that  of 
the  apostles  ;  the  succession  of  persons  is  no  other 
proof,  except  that  they  are  neither  apostles  nor 
having  been  taught  by  them,  have  710  consan- 
guinity of  doctrine  with  the  apostles." 

St.  Gregorius  Nazianzenus,  says:2  "the  suc- 
cession of  piety  and  not  of  the  chair  is  required, 
for  those  who  make  profession  of  the  same  faith 
are  participating  in  the  same  chair;  the  succession 
of  faith  being  the  true  succession ;  the  others, 
who  glory  in  the  chair  without  the  truth,  have 
only  the  appearance  of  a  true  succession."  From 
these  authorities  we  see  that  it  requires  a  succes- 
sion of  doctrine  of  which  the  church  of  Rome 
boasts  but  cannot  show  a  proof. 

St.  Hieronimus  equally  affirms  :3  "  the  church 
is  not  in  walls  and  splendid  buildings,  but  in  the 
true  doctrine  of  Christ.  The  buildings  having 
been  for  a  space  of  twenty-five  years  in  the  pos- 

JTertul.de  prescript,  hseret. 

2Gregorius  Nazianzenus  de  laude  Athanas. 

3Hieronimus  Contra  hseret. 


APOSTOLICAL    DOCTRINES.  127 

session  of  heretics,  but  the  true  church  has  been 
where  the  true  faith  was." 

The  same  we  can  say,  if  we  look  to  Germany, 
Holland  and  England,  that  whilst  these  beautiful 
edifices,  which  before  the  reformation  were  in  the 
possession  of  the  Roman  church,  the  true  church 
was  among  the  JFaldenses  and  the  real  followers 
of  the  cross.  Let  Rome  cease  to  boast  of  the 
apostolical  succession  to  prove  her  unlimited 
power  of  infallibility,  for  Nero  also  was  the  legi- 
timate successor  of  Augustus,  and  still  was  a  ty- 
rant. Manasse  succeeded  Ezekiel,  and  was  not- 
withstanding an  ungodly  king.  And  finally  we 
will  tell  Rome,  that  the  Arian  bishops  have  equal- 
ly succeeded  the  faithful  bishops  ;  the  impious 
Nestorius  was  a  legitimate  successor  of  St.  An- 
drew in  the  chair  of  Constantinople,  as  well  as 
Pope  Gregory  the  X  VI.  in  the  chair  of  St.  Peter. 
As  the  dark  night  which  succeeds  the  splendor  of 
the  day  ;  as  sickness  and  death  which  succeeds 
health,  so  is  the  succession  of  persons  without 
the  truth  of  the  gospel. 


ADORATION  OF  SAINTS. 

In  one  of  my  preceding  articles,  I  showed  suf- 
ficiently the  corruptions,  the  deceit,  the  heathen- 
ish adoration  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  the  manner 
in  which  saints  are  manufactured;  but  having  only 
given  an  historical  account,  I  resume  the  subject 
in  a  separate  section,  to  show  the  light  I  received 
after  an  attentive  examination  of  the  scriptures 
with  regard  to  the  invocation  of  saints. 

Having  been  taught  to  venerate  and  adore  the 
saints,  I  felt  the  great  importance  of  that  subject; 
and  it  was  not  a  matter  of  trifling  or  small  mo- 
ment for  my  conscience  whether  it  was  true  or 
false.  The  scriptures  teach,  that:  "God  is  a 
Spirit,  and  they  that  worship  him  must  worship 
him  in  spirit  and  in  truth."  Consequently  it  was 
a  practical  question  in  which  every  man,  lay-man 
as  well  as  priest  must  be  interested. 

How  am  I  to  approach  God  with  acceptance?: 
How  am  I  to  present  my  prayers  unto  Him  ?  Is  it 
through  the  Lord  Jesus  as  the  only  and  perfect 
Mediator,  or  through  him  and  the  saints  with  him 
in'  heaven  \  Through  one  mediator  and  advo- 
cate,   or    through    many  ?    were    naturally    the 


ADORATION    OF    SAINTS.  129 

thoughts  which  rose  in  my  mind.  If  I  would 
give  my  views  on  the  subject  with  the  light  I 
have  now,  I  would  certainly  treat  it  differently. 
But  1  will  in  the  plainest  and  most  concise  man- 
ner, give  the  views  I  had  at  that  time.  Two 
points  presented  themselves  to  my  mind. 

1st.  Whether  the  saints  pray  in  heaven  for 
man ;  and 

2dly.  Whether  men  should  pray  to  God  through 
the  saints.  On  the  first  point  I  could  not  decide, 
because  I  found  nothing  revealed  in  the  scriptures 
to  make  it  a  matter  of  faith. 

It  was  the  second  point ;  whether  it  is  the  du- 
ty of  making  saints  in  heaven  our  mediators  with 
God  ?     This  it  was  my  desire  to  verify. 

Before  I  enter  upon  the  inquiry,  I  will  see  if 
the  Roman  Catholics  offer  really  a  regular  and 
unequivocal  worship  to  the  saints,  and  if  they 
adore  them  as  mediators  between  God  and  man ; 
then  examine  if  it  is  right  or  wrong. 

The  following  prayers  are  addressed  to  the 
Virgin  Mary  and  to  other  saints.  As  the  Roman 
Catholics  are  not  much  versed  in  the  Bible,  I 
will  for  their  convenience  give  also  the  passages 
from  scripture  as  a  parallel  to  their  prayers. 


12 


130 


ADORATION    OF   SAINTS. 


The  Church  of  Rome. 

"  Heart  of  Mary,  il- 
lustrious throne  of  glo- 
ry. 

"Heart  of  Mary,  com- 
fort of  the  afflicted. 

"Heart  of  Mary,  re- 
fuge of  sinners. 

"Heart  of  Mary,  hope 
of  the  agonizing. 

"Heart  of  Mary,  seat 
of  mercy. 

"Hail  Mary,  lady  and 
mistress  of  the  world,  to 
whom  all  power  has  been 
given,  both  in  heaven 
and  earth."1 


"Come  then,  harden- 
ed and  inveterate  sinner, 
how  great  soever  your 
crimes  may  be !  come 
&  behold !  Mary  stretch- 
es out  her  hand,  opens 
her  breast  to  receive  you. 
Though  invisible  to  the 
great  concerns  of  your 
salvation,  though  unfor- 
tunately, proof  against 
the  most  engaging  in- 
vitations of  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  fling  yourself  at 

'Litany  of  the  heart  of  Mary.  p.  206. 
2Ps.  xxxiv.  v.  4. 
3Ps.  xlvi.  v.  1. 
"Isaiah  ch.  xlv.  v.  22. 


The  Bible. 

"I  sought  the  Lord, 
and  he  heared  me,  and 
delivered  me  from  all 
my  fears."2 


"  God  is  our  refuge 
and  strength,  a  very  pre- 
sent Help  in  trouble.3 


"Look  unto  me,  and 
be  saved,  all  the  ends  of 
the  earth;  for  I  am  God, 
and  there  is  none  else."4 


ADORATION    OF    SAINTS. 


131 


The  Church  of  Rome. 

the  feet  of  this  powerful 
advocate.  Her  throne, 
though  so  exalted,  has 
nothing  forbidding." 


"Hail  Mary,  queen  of 
my  life,  my  sweetness, 
and  my  love."1 


"O  thou,  whosoever 
thou  art,  who  under- 
standest  that  thou  dost 
rather  fluctuate  in  the 
streams  of  this  life,  a- 
midst  storms  and  tem- 
pests, than  walk  over 
the  earth,  turn  not  thine 
eyes  away  from  the 
splendor  of  this  star, 
if  thou  desirest  not  to 
be  overwhelmed  with 
storms.  If  the  winds 
of  temptations  arise  a- 
gainst  thee ;  if  you  run 
upon  the  rocks  of  tribu- 
lations, look  to  this  star, 
call  upon  Mary.  If  you 
are  cast  upon  the  waves 
of  pride,  ambition,  de- 
traction, and  emulation, 
look  to  this  star,  call  up- 
on Mary.  If  anger,  or 
avarice,  or  the  entice- 
ments of  the  flesh  strike 
against  the  vessel  of  the 


The  Bible. 


"To  whom  then  will 
ye  liken  God  ?  or  what 
likeness  will  ye  compare 
unto  him  ?  The  work- 
man melteth  a  graven 
image,  and  the  goldsmith 
spreadeth  it  over  with 
gold,  and  casteth  silver 
chains.  He  that  is  so 
impoverished,  that  he 
hath  no  oblation,  choos- 
eth  a  tree  that  will  not 
rot;  he  seeketh  unto  him 
a  cunning  workman  to 
prepare  a  graven  image 
that  shall  not  be  moved. 
Have  ye  not  known  ? 
have  ye  not  heard  ?  hath 
it  not  been  told  you  from 
the  beginning  ?  have  ye 
not  understood  from  the 
foundation  of  the  earth  ? 
It  is  he  that  sitteth  upon 
the  circle  of  the  earth, 
and  the  inhabitants  there- 
|  of  are  as  grass-hoppers  ; 


'Litany  of   the  heart  of  Mary-  p.  293. 


132 


ADORATION    OF   SAINTS. 


The  Church  of  Rome. 

lhind,  look  to  Mary.  If 
disturbed  by  the  immen- 
sity of  your  crimes,  con- 
founded by  the  pollution 
of  your  conscience,  and 
terrified  with  the  horrors 
of  the  judgment,  you  be- 
gin to  be  absorbed  in  the 
gulf  of  sorrow,  in  the 
abyss  of  despair,  think 
of  Mary."1 

"O  God,  who  hast 
crowned  the  blest  king, 
Edward  thy  confessor 
with  the  diadem  of  glo- 
ry, grant  that  we  may 
honor  him  in  such  a 
manner  on  earth,  as  to 
hereafter  reign  with  him 
in  heaven,  through,  &c.2 

"And  I  reverence  you, 
O,  sacred  Virgin  Mary, 
the  holy  ark  of  the  cov- 
enant, and  together  with 
all  the  thoughts  of  all 
the  blessed  spirits  in  hea- 
ven, do  bless  and  praise 
you  infinitely  for  you 
are  the  great  Mediatrix 


The  Bible. 

that  stretched  out  the 
heavens  as  a  curtain,  and 
spreadeth  them  out  as  a 
tent  to  dwell.  That 
bringeth  the  princes  to 
nothing;  he  maketh  the 
judges  of  the  earth  as 
vanity,"3  &c. 


"Whatsoever  ye  shall 
ask  in  my  name,  that 
will  I  do,  that  the  Father 
may  be  glorified  in  the 
Son."4 


"Thou  shalt  not  make 
unto  thee  any  graven 
image  or  any  likeness  of 
any  thing  that  is  in  hea- 
ven above,  or  that  is  in 
the  earth  beneath,  or  that 
is  in  the  water,  under  the 
earth.  Thou  shalt  not 
bow    down    thyself   to 


^Breviary  Roman.  Autumn.  Fest.  Sept.  lect.  5,  Ser- 
mo  St.  Bernardi. 

2Missal.  Rom.  p.  672. 
3Isaiah  xl.  v.  18—23 
"John  ch.  xiv.  v.  13. 


ADORATION    OF    SAINTS. 


133 


The  Church  of  Rome. 

between  God  and  man, 
obtaining  for  sinners  all 
they  can  ask  and  de- 
mand of  the  blessed 
Trinity.     Hail  Mary."1 

"O  God,  who  didst 
teach  blessed  Hedwigs 
to  fly  from  the  pomps  of 
the  world,  and  with  her 
whole  heart  to  embrace 
the  humility  of  the  cross; 
grant  by  her  merits  and 
example,  that  we  may 
also  learn  to  tread  under 
our  feet,  the  fading  plea- 
sures of  this  world,  and 
to  overcome  all  that 
standeth  in  the  way  of 
our  salvation,  by  embra- 
cing the  cross."2 

Hymn. 
"Hail  star  of  the  sea, 
sweet  mother  of  God, 
and  ever  Virgin.  The 
blessed  gate  of  heaven 
receiving  that  salutation. 
From  the  mouth  of  Ga- 


The  Bible. 

them,  nor  serve  them," 
&c.3 


"Little  children,  keep 
yourselves  from  idols. 
Amen."4 

"They  that  make  a 
graven  image  are  all  of 
them  vanity;  and  their 
delectable  things  shall 
not  profit,"  &c. 

"Shall  I  fall  down  to 
the  stock  of  a  tree?'''''0 


"This  is  the  stone, 
which  was  set  at  nought 
of  you  builders,  which 
is  become  the  head  of 
the  corner.  Neither  is 
there  salvation  in  any 
other  ;  for  there  is  none 


'Sacred  heart  of  Mary,  p.  200. 
-Missal.  Rom.  p.  G77. 
3Exod.  ch.  xx.  v.  4,  5. 
<lEp.  of  Johnch.  v.  21. 
5Isaiah  xliv.  v.  9  and  19. 


134 


ADORATION    OF    SAINTS. 


The  Church  of  Home. 

briel ;  establish  us  in 
peace  ;  chancre  the  name 
Eve  ;  loose  the  chains  of 
the  guilty  ;  bring  light 
to  the  blind  ;  drive  away 
our  ills ;  o-ive  all  p;ood 
things;  show  that  you 
art  a  mother ;  and  let 
him  receive  through  thee 
our  prayers,  who  was 
born  for  us,  and  conde- 
scended to  be  your  son." 
May  the  Lord  conduct 
us  to  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  by  the  prayers 
and  merits  of  the  bless- 
ed ever  Virgin  Mary, 
and  of  all  the  saints.— 
Amen."1 

"O  blessed  mother, 
and  immaculate  Virgin, 
O  glorious  queen  of  the 
world,  intercede  for  us 
with  the  Lord."2 

"We  fly  beneath  thy 
protection,  O,  holy  mo- 
ther of  God  ;  do  not  de- 
spise our  supplications 
in  necessity,  but  ever  de- 
liver  us    from   all    dan- 


The  Bible. 

other  name  under  heav- 
en given  among  men, 
whereby  we  must  be  sa- 
ved."3 

Every  man  is  brutish 
in  his  knowledge  ;  every 
founder  is  confounded 
by  the  graven  image ; 
for  his  molten  image  is 
falsehood,  and  there  is 
no  breath  in  them.  They 
are  vanity,  and  the  work 
of  errors  ;  in  the  time  of 
their  visitation  they  shall 
perish.4 


"This  is  a  faithful 
saying,  and  worthy  of 
of  all  acceptation,  that 
Christ  Jesus  came  into 
the  world  to  save  sin- 
ners."5 


'Breviar.  Rom.  p.  137. 
2Brev.  Rom.  Ibid. 
3Acts  iv.  v.  11,  12. 
^  4Jerem.  x.  v.  14,  15. 
51  Ep.  of  Timothy  i.  v.  15. 


ADORATION    OF    SAINTS. 


135 


The  Church  of  Borne. 

gers,    O,    glorious,   and 
blessed  Virgin."1 

"We  pray  thee,  O, 
Lord,  that  the  glorious 
intercession  of  the  bles- 
sed, ever  glorious  Vir- 
gin Mary,  may  protect 
us,  and  conduct  us  to 
life  eternal,  through  the 
Lord."2 


"O  God,  who  didst 
adorn  the  blessed  bish- 
op Nicholas  with  innu- 
merable miracles,  grant, 
we  pray  thee,  that  we 
may  be  delivered  from 
the  burnings  of  hell  by 
his  merits  and  prayers, 
through  the  Lord."3 


The  Bible. 


"This  is  good,  and 
acceptable  in  the  sight 
of  God  our  Saviour, 
who  will  have  all  men 
to  be  saved,  and  to  come 
unto  the  knowledge  of 
the  truth.  For  there  is 
one  God,  and  one  Medi- 
ator between  God  and 
man,  Christ  Jesus."4 


"Let  no  man  beguile 
you  of  your  reward,  in 
a  voluntary  humility, 
and  worshipping  of  an- 
gels, intruding  into  those 
things  which  he  hath 
not  seen,  vainly  puffed 
up  in  his  fleshly  mind, 
and  not  holding  the 
head."5 

That  to  the  Virgin  Mary  is  ascribed  power,  ut- 
terly inconsistent  with  her  condition  as  a  crea- 
ture ;  I  shall  give  another  specimen  of  the  wri- 
tings of  our  present  Pope    Gregory  XVI.  who 

'Officiura  parvum  V.  Mariae. 

2Ibid. 

3Breviar.  Rom.  Dec.  6,  Fest.  hiemalis. 

"Ibid.  chap.  ii.  v.  3—6. 

5Ep.  Coloss.  chap.  ii.  v.  18. 


136  ADORATION     OF   SAINTS. 

closes  his  pastoral  address  in  the  following  man- 
ner :  "  Now  that  all  these  events  may  come  to 
pass  happily  and  successfully,  let  us  lift  up  our 
eyes,  and  our  hands  to  the  most  holy  Virgin 
Mary,  who  alone  has  destroyed  all  heresies,  and 

is  OUR  GREATEST   CONFIDENCE,  EVEN   THE    WHOLE 

foundation  of  our  hope."  These  quotations 
sufficiently  prove, 

1st.  That  a  religious  worship  of  the  most  de- 
cided character  is  offered  to  the  saints. 

2dly.  That  God  is  addressed  through  their 
merits. 

3dly.  That  to  the  Virgin  are  ascribed  the  pre- 
rogatives and  titles  of  Deity. 

4thly.  That  saints  are  held  to  make  satisfaction 
for  sinners,  and  are  therefore  not  only  mediators 
of  intercession,  but  also  mediators  of  atonement. 

I  examined  further  the  scriptural  grounds,  upon 
which  the  church  of  Rome  bases  that  worship, 
and  those  practices.  Three  reasons  are  adduced 
as  proof: 

1st.  The  nature  of  christian  charity. 

2dly,  The  scriptures. 

3dly.  The  practices  of  the  primitive  church. 

With  regard  to  the  excellency  of  christian  love 
or  charity,  I  perfectly  agree  with  them,  knowing 


ADORATION    OF   SAINTS.  137 

full  well,  that  it  is  the  bond  of  perfectness,  and 
that  it  will  live  for  ever  in  the  kingdom  of  glory  ; 
or  those  who  die  in  the  faith  of  Jesus,  feel  a  liv- 
ing charity  for  the  church  on  earth  ;  but  it  has  not 
been  revealed  unto  us  to  what  extent,  or  in  what 
manner,  much  less  that  the  saints  in  heaven  pray 
for  us.  To  call  on  them  to  exercise  this  love  in 
our  behalf  as  intercessors  for  God,  is  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  whole  tenor  of  scripture.  I  perfectly 
coincide  with  my  beloved  Roman  Catholic  breth- 
ren, that  the  church  of  heaven  is  filled  with  love 
towards  the  church  yet  militant.  As  the  body  of 
Christ  shall  not  be  seen  in  its  glorified  state,  until 
all  God's  people  shall  be  gathered  together ;  so  it 
is  reasonable  to  think,  that  this  feeling  of  love  to- 
wards those  on  earth,  is  found  among  the  blessed 
above.  But  to  establish  it  as  an  article  of  faith, 
would  be  absurd,  much  more  so  to  assert,  that  we 
are  authorized  to  call  on  them  to  exercise  this 
charity  by  praying  for  us,  or  in  other  words  to 
ask  them  to  intercede  with  God  for  us.  Such  a 
doctrine  I  could  not  receive,  because  the  word  of 
God  declares,  that  none  in  heaven  is  to  be  invok- 
ed as  an  intercessor,  save  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ* 
To  call  on  the  saints  in  glory,  to  pray  for  us,  is 
not  to  invite   them  to  a  work  of  charity,  but  an 


138  ADORATION    OF   SAINTS. 

act  of  great  presumption.  For  God  has  revealed 
this  truth  unto  us,  that  we  are  to  apply  to  Jesus 
our  only  Mediator,  and  not  to  the  saints,  to  exer- 
cise their  charity  in  this  way. 

2dly.  The  passages  of  the  scriptures  which  the 
church  of  Rome  brings  to  support  her  doctrine  of 
the  invocation  of  saints,  I  carefully  examined,  and 
are  as  follows.  In  the  gospel  according  to  St, 
Luke  we  read  i1  "  There  is  joy  in  the  presence  of 
the  angels  of  God  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth." 
Consequently  the  angels  know  our  state  on  earth, 
and  therefore  can  pray  for  us.  I  firmly  believe 
that  they  do  not  know  every  thing  concerning 
man ;  but  how  can  they  know  when  a  sinner  re- 
pents ?  The  parable  from  which  the  above  pas- 
sages are  taken  explains  the  matter.  The  man 
goes  into  the  wilderness,  seeks  his  lost  sheep, 
finds  it,  carries  it  home,  and  tells  his  friends,  say- 
ing: "rejoice  with  me  for  I  have  found  the 
sheep  that  was  lost.^2  Jesus  comes  to  this  wil- 
derness of  sin,  seeks  and  saves  that  which  was 
lost,  proclaims  the  triumphs  of  his  grace  to  the 
angels  who  surround  his  throne,  saying:  "rejoice 
with  me,  &c#"    How  simple  and  how  instructive 

'Luke,  chap.  15,  v.  10. 
2Luke,  shap.  15,  v.  5. 


ADORATION    OF   SAINTS.  139 

this  passage  is,  when  left  to  its  genuine  meaning 
and  bearing,  and  how  dangerous  it  is,  when  per- 
verted to  support  the  error  of  the  intercession  of 
saints  and  angels.  The  simple  fact  is,  that  Jesus 
the  good  shepherd,  informs  the  angels  of  the  sin- 
ners conversion  and  therefore  they  know  it. 

Another  passage  from  Job1  is  the  next  quota- 
tion. The  command  of  God  to  Job's  three 
friends  to  seek  an  interest  in  his  prayers  and  their 
obedience  thereto.  There  is  no  doubt,  that  God 
commanded  them  to  seek  an  interest  in  the  prayers 
of  Job,  and  he  did  plead  for  them,  so  did  the  peo- 
ple of  God  at  Rome  in  Paul's  time  plead  for  him, 
according  to  his  request.2  But  he  has  not  com- 
manded us  to  ask  the  prayers  of  the  saints  in 
heaven ;  the  first  is  a  precept,  the  second  is  the 
invention  of  man. 

The  difference  is  as  great  as  heaven  is  above 
the  earth.  Job  was  not  in  heaven,  but  a  child  of 
God  upon  the  earth,  and  Job's  friends  did  not  pay 
to  him  religious  honor  but  recommended  them- 
selves to  his  prayers,  as  every  christian's  duty  is 
to  pray  for  his  friends. 

'Job,  chap.  43,  v.  7—10. 
2Romans,  chap.  15,  v.  30. 


140  ADORATION    OF   SAINTS. 

Another  text  from  Zacharia  is  taken  as  a  sup- 
port.1 "  O  Lord  of  hosts,  how  long  wilt  thou  not 
have  mercy  on  Jerusalem  and  on  the  cities  of  Ju- 
dea,  with  which  thou  hast  been  angry,  this  is  now 
the  seventieth  year."  These  were  the  words  of 
an  angel,  who  prayed  for  Jerusalem  and  the  cities 
of  Judea.  May  that  or  any  other  angel  not  pray 
also  now  for  us  ?"  I  was  very  much  surprised 
at  such  an  interpretation,  though  my  biblical 
knowledge  was  at  that  time  not  very  extensive, 
still  I  could  see  the  real  meaning  of  that  text ;  the 
angel  who  uttered  that  prayer  was  not  in  heaven, 
but  upon  the  earth  with  the  prophet.2  Therefore 
it  could  not  prove  any  thing  for  the  intercession 
of  saints  or  angels  in  heaven ;  another  point 
which  is  evident  from  the  original,  is  that  the 
angel  was  our  Lord,  the  Mediator  Jesus  Christ. 
For  the  true  translation  would  be:  "  the  angel, 
the  Lord"  and  not  the  angel  of  the  Lord. 

Another  passage  is  quoted  by  the  Romish  divines 
from  Exod.  chap.  3,  v.  5,  where  a  voice  was  heard 
by  Moses,  at  Eloreb.  "  Loose  thy  shoes  from  off 
thy  feet,  for  the  place  whereon  thou  standest  is 

JZachar.  chap.  1,  v.  12. 
2Ibid.  v.  9. 


ADORATION    OF   SAINTS.  141 

holy."  This  he  did;  thus  it  was  with  Joshua, 
who  fell  down  upon  his  face  at  the  appearance  of 
the  angel.  Here  I  was  somewhat  embarrassed, 
but  St.  Thomas  d'  Aquinus  gave  me  light  on  the 
subject,  saying  :*  "  The  angel,  to  wit  Christ,  who 
is  called  an  angel,  because  sent  by  the  Father  into 
the  world.  This  angel  is  the  mediator  Jesus 
Christ,  because  of  no  other  can  it  be  said,  that  he 
offers  up  to  the  Father  after  so  glorious  and  ma- 
jestic a  manner  the  incense,  that  is,  the  prayers  of 
all  the  saints  upon  the  golden  altar." 

Again  a  passage  from  Revelation,2  where  it 
reads :  "  The  four  beasts  and  four  and  twenty  el- 
ders fell  down  before  the  lamb,  having  every  one 
odours,  which  are  the  prayers  of  the  saints."  As 
plausible  as  it  appears,  still  the  fathers  interpret  it 
in  a  more  rational  way  than  the  present  Roman 
divines.  They  consider  it  figuratively,  referring 
either  to  the  church  on  earth,  or  to  the  church  in 
heaven,  if  the  former,  the  four  beasts  and  the 
four  and  twenty  elders  represent  the  ministers 
and  the  people  of  Christ's  church,  the  harps,  their 
songs  of  praise  or  thanksgiving,  and  the  odour  or 

'Thorn,  d'  Aquinus,  Apoc.  Sect.  2,  caput  8. 
2Rev.  chap.  5,  v.  8. 


142  ADORATION    OF   SAINTS. 

incense  their  prayers,  relates  to  the  service  of 
God's  people  on  earth.  But  if  taken  in  reference 
to  the  church  of  heaven,  it  can  only  prove  one 
thing,  and  that  is,  that  they  pray  even  there. 
Now  reason  asks  where  does  it  appear  that  they 
offer  our  prayers,  or  even  that  they  pray  for  us  ? 
but  any  prayers  that  may  be  offered  up  are  for 
themselves,  or  of  a  general  nature. 

3dly.  I  examined  the  assertion  of  the  church  of 
Rome,  that  it  was  the  constant  practice  of  the 
primitive  church.  I  carefully  read  the  fathers, 
and  I  defy  any  man  under  heaven  to  show  me  one 
of  the  fathers  who  lived  in  the  first  two  centu- 
ries, who  has  even  hinted  at  this  doctrine  in  any 
shape  or  form,  that  is  even  acknowledged  by  the 
Roman  Catholic  advocates :  "  That  to  the  Gentiles 
no  occasion  should  be  given  to  think  that  many 
gods  were  offered  them,  instead  of  the  multitude 
of  gods  which  they  had  forsaken."  Even  Origin, 
who  lived  in  the  third  century  makes  no  reference 
to  the  duty  of  praying  to  the  saints. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  the  fathers  brought 
forward  the  same  arguments  against  the  gods  of 
the  heathens,  as  the  Protestants  against  the  invo- 
cation of  the  canonized  saints  of  the  Pope  of 
Rome,  and  ever  maintained  the  truth,  that  we 


ADORATION    OF   SAINTS.  M3 

must  come  to  God  through  Christ,  the  true  and 
only  Mediator  with  God. 

Having  shown  what  the  church  of  Rome  teach- 
es upon  this  topic,  I  will  give  the  doctrines  of  the 
Bible  as  I  understand  them  now.  There  is  an 
infinite  distance  between  God  and  man.  "  Your 
iniquities  [says  the  prophet  Isaiah]1  have  sepa- 
rated between  you  and  your  God."  These  have 
caused  the  breach  which  the  sinner  could  not  by 
any  exertion  heal.  Hence  our  sins  expose  us  to 
the  condemnation  of  God's  law  here,  and  eternal 
misery  hereafter.2  God  in  his  love  and  pity,  pro- 
vided a  way  for  the  sinner  to  come  to  him,  which 
is  thus  plainly  expressed  by  the  Saviour :  "  I  am 
the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life,  no  man  cometh 
unto  the  father,  but  by  me."3  The  barrier  to  our 
approach  to  God  was  sin,  but  this  Jesus  has  re- 
moved by  the  sacrifice  of  himself.4  And  as  God 
the  Father  was  fully  satisfied  with  the  ransom 
which  he  paid  for  the  sinner,  so  it  is  through  J/iiu 
alone  the  sinner  must  go  to  God,  present  his  peti- 
tions through  him,  and  expect  an  answer  to  prayer 

'Isaiah,  chap.  59,  v.  2. 
2Rom.  chap.  3,  v.  9. 
3John,  chap.  14,  v.  6. 
4Heb.  chap.  9,  v.  26. 


144  ADORATION    OF   SAINTS. 

in  the  same  way.  Hence  the  great  stress  laid 
upon  the  intercession  of  Christ  in  heaven,1  and 
the  constant  reference  to  him  as  our  mediator  and 
advocate  with  the  Father. 

There  are  three  features  in  his  mediation,  which 
give  us  boldness  to  approach  in  his  name.  1st.  It 
is  single,  that  is,  He  exercises  it  alone,  and  none 
shares  it  with  him.  No  man  cometh  unto  the 
Father,  but  by  me."2  There  is  one  God  and  one 
Mediator  between  God  and  man,  Jesus  Christ, 
who  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all.3  2dly.  This 
intercession  is  suitable  to  mail's  wants  and  con- 
ditions, for  he  is  omnipotent,  he  is  full  of  tender- 
ness and  power.  He  feels  our  miseries  and  en- 
ters deeply  into  our  condition.4  3dly.  His  inter- 
cession is  perfectly  efficacious;  he  never  can 
plead  in  vain.  He  is  our  advocate  with  the 
Father,5  and  prevails  with  God.  "Him  thou 
hearest  always.''  What  more  does  the  Father 
require  than  the  mediation  of  his  dear  son  ?  And 
why  should  the  sinner  seek  further  than  the  aid 

'Romans,  chap.  8,  v.  34,  and  Heb.  chap.  7,  v.  27. 
2John,  chap.  14,  v.  1. 
3Timothy,  chap.  2,  v— 5  and  6. 
4Heb.  chap.  4,  v.  15. 
51  Ep.  of  John  20. 


THREE  MONTHS  IN  THE  CONVENT.         145 

of  the  beloved?  Can  the  voice  of  many  be  re- 
quired here  .'      Surely  not. 

If  the  church  of  Koine  contends  for  the  supre- 
macy of  the  Pope ;  I  will  uphold  the  supremacy 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

If  the  church  of  Home  clings  to  the  tradition 
of  men  ;  I  will  receive  nothing  but  the  written 
word  of  God,  as  the  rule  of  my  faith.  And  if  she 
teaches  the  intercession  of  saints,  I  will  direct 
my  heart  and  my  mind  to  the  perfect  Mediator  of 
Christ. 


THREE  MONTHS  IN  THE  CONVENT 
OF  THE  CORDELIER. 

After  this  result  of  my  inquiries,  my  readers 
may  easily  imagine  the  perplexity  of  my  mind. 
No  friend  in  whose  bosom  I  could  pour  the  dis- 
tress of  my  troubled  spirit;  no  prospect  of  any 
relief  for  the  anguish  of  my  heart,  no  refuge 
against  the  wrath  to  come,  and  if  the  true  state  of 
my  feelings  become  known  among  the  Catholic 
clergy,  whither  should  I  fly  to  avoid  the  fiendish 
tortures  of  the  Inquisition  ?  The  Bible,  which 
should  have  been  my  consolation,  only  augment- 
*  ed-my  sorrows,  and  wus  as  a  worm  constantly  prey- 
13 


146        THREE  MONTHS  IN  THE  CONVENT. 

ing  upon  my  heart ;  for  the  more  I  reM  it,  the 
stronger  became  my  convictions,  that  the  church 
of  Rome  had  deserted  from  the  doctrines  and 
practices  of  the  primitive  church  of  Christ.  In 
the  midst  of  this  perplexing  state  of  mind,  I  saw 
also  the  impossibility  of  leaving  the  church.  For 
in  what  church  should  I  take  refuge  ?  I  had  no 
chance  in  Rome.  Should  I  leave  Rome  and  join 
a  Protestant  heretic  church?  I  hated  even  the 
idea,  for  my  intention  was  not  to  become  a  Pro- 
testant, but  a  faithful  believer  in  Christ.  The  me- 
ditations of  Thomas  A'  Kempis  were,  next  to 
the  Bible  my  companion ;  I  also  procured  several 
French  works  of  the  Jansenists,  in  order  to  in- 
struct myself  better  in  the  truth  of  the  gospel ; 
these  strengthened  my  determination  not  to  leave' 
the  church,  but  labor  for  its  reformation.  Inspired 
with  this  idea,  I  resolved  to  separate  myself  en- 
tirely from  the  world,  and  live  a  monastic  life.  I 
consulted  with  my  friends,  who  represented  to 
me  all  the  difficulties  of  such  a  change.  My 
habits,  temperament  and  health  were  taken  into 
consideration,  I  both  acknowledged  and  felt  the 
force  of  these  objections,  but  believing  as  I  did, 
that  cloisters  are  the  residences  of  holiness  and 
science,  and  looking  upon  monks  as  perfect,  and 


THREE  MONTHS  IN  THE  CONVENT.         147 

ihe  only  godly  men  in  the  church ;  I  entertained 
no  doubt,  that  I  should  be  able  to  overcome  all 
these  difficulties,  by  the  superabundance  of  spiri- 
tual good  I  should  receive.  So  I  resolved  to  be- 
come a  Capucin  friar.  My  mother  was  greatly 
displeased  with  this  change  ;  my  sisters  ridiculed 
me,  they  called  me  a  crazy,  lazy  and  ignorant 
friar,  and  did  all  in  their  power  to  prevent  such  a 
st6p.  But  I  had  been  seeking  that  peace  for  my 
troubled  conscience,  which  the  world  could  not 
give  me ;  the  confessional  was  not  sufficient  to 
bind  up  my  broken  heart ;  the  mediation  of  the 
Virgin  Mary  I  considered  only  a  trick  of  the 
priests  to  get  money.  I  had  no  one  to  direct  me 
to  the  fountain  of  life,  to  the  mediation  of  the 
crucified  Redeemer  as  the  only  refuge,  I  sought 
refuge  in  the  cloister  and  entered  not  the  convent 
of  the  Capucins,  but  the  minor  order  of  St. 
FranciscMS,  whose  manner  of  living  is  not  as 
austere  as  that  of  the  other  orders  of  St.  Francis- 
cus,  and  who  are  also  men  of  learning. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  year  1826,  I  entered 
the  convent  of  the  Minorites,  the  so-called  Cor- 
deliers as  a  novice.  The  superior  of  the  convent, 
treated  me  in  a  very  gentlemanly  manner,  as  a 
grown  up  person,  and  being  in  sacerdotal  orders, 


148        THREE  MONTHS  IN  THE  CONVENT. 

I  had  no  communication  with  the  other  novices,  1 
had  more  liberty  being  only  placed  under  the  di- 
rection of  the  father  professor  of  Theology,  and 
saw  them  only  in  the  choir.  As  a  novice  I  had 
no  intercourse  with  any  of  the  fathers  of  the  con- 
vent, without  the  permission  of  the  father  profes- 
sor. My  cell  was  plain  and  neat,  my  bed  much 
better  than  I  had  expected  ;  I  was  obliged  for  my 
health's  sake  to  make  a  prominade  twice  a  week 
with  some  of  the  fathers  in  the  city  or  elsewhere, 
as  it  pleased  my  conductor.  Nearly  every  day 
after  dinner  I  had  permission  to  frequent  society 
with  the  father  students  of  Theology,  who  met  in 
a  large  saloon  m  the  garden,  where  a  billiard  table 
was  standing,  and  other  games  were  played,  ac- 
cording to  the  fancy  of  the  students,  until  the  bell 
rang  for  vesper.  I  might  have  been  happy  with 
regard  to  my  temporal  welfare,  but  it  was  not  that 
which  I  was  seeking,  it  was  something  of  a  higher 
order.  I  was  much  surprised,  that  I  never  heard 
the  monks  speak  on  the  subject  of  religion  among 
themselves ;  they  backbited  and  censured  each 
other  behind  their  backs,  while  they  preserved  the 
most  friendly  exterior  when  in  each  others  pre- 
sence ;  cabals  and  intrigues  were  used  in  order  to 
gain  the  good  will  of  the  superior,  of  to  be  pro- 


THREE  MONTHS  IN  THE  CONVENT.        149 

moted  to  some  little  office,  and  so  zealous  were 

J* 
they  in  this,  that  one  would  think  they  aspired  to 

obtain  a  crown.  I  was  horror-struck  with  one 
circumstance,  which  troubled  me  not  a  little  ;  we 
had  an  old  father  in  the  convent  about  80  years  of 
age,  who  occupied  all  the  high  offices  in  the  or- 
der; in  his  old  age  he  retired  within  the  same 
convent,  where  he  had  once  been  a  novice,  and 
had  made  his  vow,  when  he  was  17  years  old. 
I  loved  the  old  man  very  much,  I  never  saw  him 
pass  the  corridor  without  being  engaged  in  mumb- 
ling- some  prayer,  or  without  the  rosary  in  his 
hand.  OJd  and  infirm  as  he  was,  he  was  ever  the 
first  in  the  choir  and  the  last  to  leave  it.  He  in- 
vited me  often  to  his  cell,  and  recounted  his  suf- 
ferings, when  Napoleon  suppressed  the  convents, 
and  when  he  was  imprisoned  ;  but  what  appeared 
to  alllict  him  most  was  the  almost  unbounded  lib- 
erty now  enjoyed  by  the  friars.  They  had  been 
much  more  restricted  at  the  time  when  he  was  a 
student.  He  repeated  that  history  every  time  we 
met,  and  complained  as  often  as  we  saw  each 
other. 

One  morning  the  news  came  that  father  P.  had 
Tjeen  found  dead  in  his  bed,  this  was  sad  intelli- 
gence for  me, — he  being  the  only  one  whose  cell 


150        THREE  MONTHS  IN  THE  CONVENT. 

I  could  visit  without  permission.  But  the  other 
fathers  passed  by  this  circumstance  with  light  in- 
difference ;  scarcely  was  the  office  which  is  said 
for  the  dead  performed  at  church,  when  many  of 
them  ran  away,  while  some  did  not  even  accom- 
pany the  funeral  to  the  grave.  I  saw  evidently 
that  these  men  came  together  without  knowing 
each  other,  lived  together  without  loving  each 
other,  and  died  without  mourning  over  each  other.. 

All  this  1  would  have  overlooked,  because  I 
thought  my  cell  was  my  world,  for  as  soon  as  I 
had  once  made  the  profession,  I  was  no  more  un- 
der any  direction,  except  under  that  of  the  prior 
of  the  convent,  and  as  I  aspired  to  no  honors,  nor 
promotion,  I  felt  rather  indifferent  about  the  con- 
duct of  others.  Such  were  my  calculations  ;  but 
two  things  troubled  me,  and  contributed  not  a  lit- 
tle towards  increasing  the  miseries  of  my  situ- 
ation. 

1st.  As  a  novice  I  could  read  no  book,  without 
the  permission  of  the  superior;  they  gave  me  the 
constitution  and  Breviary  of  the  Franciscan  or- 
der; the  office  of  the  Virgin  Mary  ;  the  lives  of 
St.  Franciscus,  St.  Bernardus,  St.  Antonius  of 
Padua,  and  all  such  old,  miserable,  insipid  pro- 
ductions, which  were  calculated  to  create  disgust,, 
instead  of  imparting  a  taste  for  reading. 


THREE  MONTHS  IN  THE  CONVENT.         151 

2tlly.  I  once  asked  for  a  Bible,  and  the  father 
professor  promised  me  one,  but  as  lie  never  at- 
tended to  his  promises,  I  renewed  my  request 
after  a  few  days,  when  he  refused,  saying:  "that 
■  ■■!  such  books  which  edify,  and  make 
a  good  Franciscan  friar,  and  not  the  Bible, 
which  would  only  satisfy  my  pride  and.  carnal 
mind." 

The  following  Saturday  evening  I  confessed  as 
usual,  when  the  father  confessor  put  questions  to 
me  quite  different  from  those,  which  had  refer- 
ence to  my  confession      He  asked  me,  "whether 
I  believed  that  the  Pope  is  the  infallible  head  of 
the  church?     That  the  Pope  and  bishops  in  coun- 
cil arc   the    only  interpreters  of  the  Bible?"  and 
similar  questions.     I  perceived  immediately  that 
t  was    surrounded    by  spies.      I  considered   the 
father  professor  no  more  as  my  superior,  but  as 
my  jailor,  and  my  cell  a  jail,  and  from  that  hour, 
I  studied  how  to  get  out  of  the  convent,  but  was 
ashamed  on  account  of  my  own  relations,  who 
had  warned  me,  and  predicted  to  me  all  that  had 
occurred.     In  such  a  state  of  mind,  I  neglected 
that  little  biblical    knowledge,  which  I  had   ac- 
; uii  'd;    my  mind  was  too   much    perplexed    to 
think   of   the   one    thing   needful,   and  if   I    had 


1  52        THREE  MONTHS  IN  THE  CONVENT. 

remained  in   that   den   of    corruption,    my  soul 
must  certainly  have  perished  forever. 

'  One  day  after  dinner,  I  visited  as  usual,  the 
company  of  the  students,  where  I  heard  that  one 
of  the  novices,  a  boy,  aged  sixteen  years,  was 
missing;  it  was  a  mystery  how  he  could  have  es- 
caped, as  the  door  of  the  noviciate  was  locked. 
The  whole  convent  was  searched,  but  nothing 
could  be  found  of  him.  The  following  day  a 
toga  was  seen  hanging  out  of  a  window  on  the 
roof  of  the  convent.  The  father  director  of  the 
noviciate  recognized  it  to  be  that  of  his  novice, 
and  immediately  ascended  the  garret  with  some 
friars,  where  they  found  the  poor  creature  lying 
helpless. 

His  melancholy  history  is  as  follows :  Some 
of  the  monks  opened  the  door  of  the  noviciate 
with  the  general  key,  and  persuaded  the  boy, 
•through  promises  to  go  with  them,  when  they 
conducted  him  up  into  the  garret,  where  after 
having  abused  him  in  a  manner  too  beastly  to  be 
told,  they  left  him  nearly  lifeless.  The  boy  re- 
mained there  two  nights  and  one  day,  without 
eating  and  drinking ;  during  which  time,  having 
so  much  recovered  as  to  become  sensible  of  his 
situation,  he  linns;  his  too-a  out  of  a  window  for 


THREE  MONTHS  IN  THE  CONVENT.         153 

ihe  purpose,  no  doubt,  of  drawing  the  attention 
of  some  one  to  the  place  of  his  solitary  confine- 
ment. The  boy  on  being  examined  revealed  the 
names  of  the  individuals  who  had  first  induced 
him  to  leave  the  noviciate,  and  then  after  having 
satisfied  their  worse  than  beastly  appetites,  left 
him  half  dead  in  a  lonely  unfrequented  garret,  to 
perish  as  best  he  might.  These  monsters  in  hu- 
man shape  were  found  to  be  three  of  the  fathers, 
who  on  the  same  day,  after  having  perpetrated 
this  shocking  crime,  celebrated  mass !  Yes  read- 
er, three  holy  fathers  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
church  in  sight  of  the  papal  throne,  not  only  out- 
raged humanity  in  a  manner,  to  which  the  history 
of  the  most  degraded  savage,  presents  no  parallel, 
but  having  scarcely  wiped  the  stains  of  pollution 
from  off  their  hands,  you  see  them  also  standing 
in  the  sanctuary  of  the  Most  High,  before  the  sa- 
cred altar,  elevating  the  host,  celebrating  the  aton- 
ing sacrifice  in  the  mass,  and  in  short  performing 
the  functions  of  pretended  ministers  of  Christ. 
Is  it  not  astonishing,  that  men,  wallowing  in  the 
deepest  mire  of  moral  pollution,  should  presume 
to  minister  in  the  holy  temple  of  God?  Should 
they  not  rather  be  denied  a  place  among  human 
beings  ?  But  reader,  degraded  as  they  were,  they 
14 


154   THREE  MONTHS  IN  THE  CONVENT. 

suffered  no  punishment.  Atrocious  as  their 
crime  appears  to  every  lover  of  virtue,  it  fell  far 
short  of  shocking  the  moral  sensibility  of  papal 
Rome.  She  did  not  blush  to  own  even  these. — 
All  the  anxiety  that  was  manifested  upon  the  sub- 
ject, consisted  in  an  effort  to  keep  the  transaction 
hid  from  public  notice,  and  prevent  scandal,  and 
to  do  this  it  was  only  necessary  to  remove  these 
holy  fathers  to  another  convent,  which  was  done. 
This  was  enough  for  me,  I  saw  that,  that  per- 
fection which  I  sought  was  not  to  be  found  in 
convents,  which  are  after  all,  but  nests  of  abomi- 
nation and  dens  of  corruption,  so  atrocious  and 
shocking*,  that  even  hell  itself  would  blush  to  own. 
them.  I  immediately  wrote  a  letter  to  one  of  my 
friends,  and  handed  it  to  my  jailor,  the  father  pro- 
fessor, for  the  purpose  of  having  it  sent  off,  who 
however,  on  finding  it  sealed,  would  open  it,  say- 
ing, "no  novice  can  send,  or  receive  any  letter  with- 
out the  superior  first  inspecting  it,  for  the  novice 
ought  to  have  no  intercourse  with  the  world." 
"The  world  !  (1  exclaimed)  the  world  would  nev- 
er be  guilty  of  that,  which  I  saw  in  the  space  of 
these  three  months  in  your  convent."  I  took  the 
letter  from  his  hand  and  opened  it  myself,  show- 
ing him,  that  there  was  nothing  more  in  it,  than 


THREE  MONTHS  IN  THE  CONVENT.         1  5o 

that  my  friend  should  come  the  same  evening 
with  his  carriage,  and  take  me  away,  for  I  intend- 
ed to  remain  no  longer  in  the  convent.  At  this 
news,  the  friar  changed  immediately  his  com- 
manding voice  into  a  placid  and  friendly  one, 
without  even  changing  his  countenance  in  the 
least,  (Lavater  might  have  learned  something,  if 
he  had  been  present,)  and  said,  "dear  Don  Luigi 
have  you  well  considered  the  step,  which  you  are 
taking?  entering  again  the  wicked  and  trouble- 
some world."  He  called  me  no  more  Fra.  Eu- 
gen,  which  was  my  monastic  name,  but  Don 
Luigi,  which  was  my  civil  name.  He  insisted 
that  I  should  come  into  his  cell  and  continue  to 
be  his  friend,  endeavoring  to  dissuade  me  from 
my  purpose  by  many  monkish  flatteries,  worthy 
only  of  the  devil,  but  not  of  one,  who  left  all 
things  for  Christ's  sake.  I  excused  myself,  not 
being  in  a  state  of  mind  to  visit,  begging  him  to 
send  my  letter  to  its  destiny,  and  if  he  had  no 
messenger,  he  should  send  it  per  city  post,  in  or- 
der that  my  friend  might  receive  it  before  dark. 
He  promised  compliance  with  my  wishes,  but 
deceived  me.  In  a  few  hours  the  prior  came, 
and  knocked  at  my  door;  this  was  something 
new,  for  before,  the  father  professor  and  prior  en- 


156        THREE  MONTHS  IN  THE  CONVENT. 

tered  my  room  without  any  ceremony,  as  in  their 
own  rooms,  in  order  to  surprise  me,  now  they 
used  all  the  civilities  of  worldly  men,  and  invited 
me  into  their  cells.  I  went,  and  he  received  me- 
in  the  most  civil  manner ;  our  conversation  was 
more  philosophical  than  religious  ;  at  the  end,  he 
wished  me  to  consider,  that  even  in  the  sacred 
walls  of  the  convent  there  are  some,  who  do  not 
live  up  to  the  holy  promises,  which  the  vow  be- 
fore the  altar  had  enjoined,  and  exhorted  me  to 
live  a  religious  life,  even  in  the  midst  of  the  cor- 
ruptions of  the  world.  He  assured  me  that  my 
conduct  in  the  convent,  had  been  exemplary,  and 
expressed  his  sorrow  for  my  leaving  the  order; 
he  added,  that  he  would  not  allow  my  letter  to 
be  sent  off,  for  he  would  have  the  pleasure,  to 
have  me  conveyed  to  my  home,  for  as  he  hired  a 
carriage  by  the  month,  at  the  livery  stable,  it 
would  be  no  extra  expense  to  him.  I  accepted 
his  kind  offer,  and  on  the  same  evening  threw  off 
ike- Franciscan  toga,  and  deserted,  that  sink  of 
iniquity. 


PERSECUTION. 

My  mind  was  excited  by  this  unexpected 
change  in  my  life  ;  my  heart  indignantly  inflamed 
against  the  corruptions  which  are  committed  un- 
der the  religious  garb  of  holiness  and  christian 
perfection ;  the  Bible  was  again  my  daily  food,  I 
felt  that  the  word  of  God  became  a  comfort  to  my 
soul,  and  a  soothing  to  my  broken  spirit;  especi- 
ally did  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  afford  me  light 
on  the  subject  of  self-righteousness;  it  taught  me 
that  it  is  through  faith  in  the  atoning  blood  of 
Christ,  that  we  are  saved,  and  have  access  to  the 
throne  of  grace,  where  mercy  is  found.  But  how 
was  I  to  practice  it  ?  I  was  obliged  daily,  to  per- 
form the  anti-scriptural  and  idolatrous  ceremonies. 
How  to  escape  the  abominations  of  popery  ?  O  ! 
if  I  had  had  a  christian  friend  in  these  trials,  who 
could  have  directed,  and  counselled  me  what  to  do, 
what  a  blessing  would  it  have  been  for  me  !  Un- 
der  such  insurmountable  difficulties,  I  resolved  to 
remain  in  communion  with  the  church  of  Rome, 
as  though  I  were  not  in  it,  like  the  saints  living  in 


158  PERSECUTION. 

the  world,  as  though  they  were   out  of  it;  use- 
ing"  this  world  as  not  abasing  it.1 

I  resolved  to  profess  the  pure  gospel  of  Christ 
in  my  heart,  for  God  is  a  Spirit,  and  in  spirit  and 
in  truth  he  must  be  adored,  and  He  who  is  the 
great  Searcher  of  all  hearts,  will  consider  the  dis- 
position of  my  heart,  and  not  the  outward  per- 
formances of  my  body.  Every  day  I  made  a  new 
profession  in  the  secrecy  of  my  conscience,  enter- 
ed a  protest  against  the  errors  of  the  church  of 
Rome ;  and  denounced  all  other  anti-scriptural 
practices,  as  human  inventions,  of  which  I  wish- 
ed to  be  no  partaker.  When  I  was  obliged  to 
kneel  before  the  host,  I  raised  my  spirit  towards 
heaven,  and  adored  my  Redeemer,  who  was  slain 
once  forever,  for  the  sins  of  the  world.  My  con- 
science told  me,  that  I  should  proclaim  the  gospel 
of  Christ  unto  those  around  me;  but  another 
voice  stronger  than  the  first  asked  me  :  "  will  you 
die  by  the  torments  of  the  Inquisition  1  If  the  peo- 
ple will  be  deceived,  if  they  voluntarily  harden 
their  hearts  against  the  truth  of  the  gospel,  what 
business  is  it  of  yours  1  Is  it  possible  that  God 
will  demand  an  account  of  me,  for  the  salvation 
of  a  people,  who  wish  to  live  in  error,  and  perse- 

1  1  Cor.  chap.  vii.  v.  31. 


PERSECUTION.  159 

onto,  and  even  torture  and  murder  the  saints,  and 
any  one  who  announces  to  them  the  truth?  Are 
there  not  many  priests  and  learned  men,  who  are 
equally  persuaded  of  the  errors,  and  superstitions 
of  the  church  of  Rome  yet  remain  still  in  com- 
munion with  her  ?  How  is  it  with  the  bishops  and 
clergy  of  France,  who  do  not  recognize  the  pri- 
macy of  the  Pope  of  Rome,  neither  believe  in  the 
infallibility  of  his  decrees,  still  they  do  not  separ- 
ate themselves  from  the  church  of  Rome  ?  The 
Jansenists  also,  who  have  ever  been  the  most 
learned  of  the  University  of  Sorbonne  in  France, 
did  not  separate  themselves  from  the  communion 
of  the  Roman  church.  Such  were  my  reasonings, 
and  according  to  this  principle  I  acted  for  the 
space  of  a  year  and  a  half;  but  now  and  then, 
when  an  opportunity  presented  itself,  I  preached 
the  truth  publicly,  communicated  it  in  private  to 
my  friends,  gave  them  Father  Clement,  the  Pro- 
vincial Letters  of  Paschal,  and  other  useful  books 
to  enlighten  them,  so  that  I  became  suspected  of 
heresy,  and  was  at  once  surrounded  by  false, 
priestly  friends,  who  were  hired  spies  of  the  ec- 
clesiastical tribunal,  and  of  course  informed  against 
me  as  a  heretic. 


1G0  PERSECUTION. 

One  afternoon,  I  received  a  letter  from  a  friend, 

the  cardinal  del  G io,  (may  the  Lord  prosper 

him  !)  who  urged  me  to  leave  the  city  before  mid- 
night. I  understood  the  hint,  and  only  those  who 
have  felt  the  tyranical  yoke  of  priests,  can  enter 
into  my  feelings.  I  had  no  passport  to  leave  the 
papal  states,  nor  was  I  provided  with  money  for 
a  journey  in  a  foreign  country;  and  a  few  hours 
would  seal  my  doom,  and  deprive  me  of  my  lib- 
erty forever.  I  had  no  alternative,  either  to  re- 
main and  become  a  victim  of  the  gospel  truth,  in 
the  grasp  of  the  Inquisition,  or  to  leave  Rome, 
and  with  it  ail  that  was  dear  to  my  heart,  this  side 
of  the  grave. 

The  difficulty,  how  to  leave  the  city  without 
being  observed  at  the  gate,  was  the  first  which 
presented  itself  to  my  mind.  The  fear  of  being 
surrounded  by  secret  spies,  was  another  painful 
idea.  Having  however,  no  time  to  lose,  I  wrote 
a  letter  to  my  dear  mother,  informing  her  that  I 
was  about  to  undertake  a  journey  to  Naples.  I 
however,  did  not  tell  the  truth,  for  I  intended  to 
go  to  Florence,  for  fear  she  might  unwillingly  be- 
tray me,  or  the  priests  might  in  a  subtle  manner, 
get  it  out  of  her,  and  the  Inquisition  might  lay 
hold  of  me  before  I  could  have  passed  the  from- 


PERSECUTION.  161 

tier  of  the  Papal  Dominion.  I  dressed  myself  as 
if  I  intended  to  go  to  an  evening  party,  and  was 
going  on  a  promenade  out  of  the  gate  of  the  city, 
called,  "  St.  John  of  Lateran,"  the  ancient  via 
apla,  which  leads  to  Alb  ana,  called  by  Cicero, 
Alba  longum  which  road  leads  direct  to  Naples. 
After  having  walked  a  certain  distance,  I  turned 
to  the  left  and  pursued  my  way  among  fields  and 
gardens,  until  I  came  into  the  road  which  leads 
towards  Tuscany.  I  walked  during  the  whole 
night ;  in  the  morning  I  rested  in  a  common  Inn 
on  the  roadside,  where  I  took  breakfast.  Four 
piastres  formed  my  only  capital,  nor  had  I  any 
other  clothing  than  what  I  had  upon  my  body, 
but  my  anxiety  how  to  pass  the  Papal  frontier, 
and  enter  the  other  without  a  passport,  was  so 
great,  that  I  entirely  forgot  my  external  circum- 
stances. 

After  having  rested  about  two  hours  in  a  place 
where  I  would  have  before  considered  it  a  disgrace 
to  enter,  I  continued  my  journey,  and  at  3  o'clock 
reached  Mont efias cone  ;  I  did  not  enter  the  town, 
for  it  lies  upon  a  hill,  but  stopped  at  the  hotel  on 
the  turnpike.  I  ordered  a  dinner,  and  providen- 
tially saw  there  a  carriage  belonging  to  an  ac- 
quaintance  of  mine,  who  came  from  Bologna  on 


162  PERSECUTION. 

his  way  to  Rome.     I  opened  my  mind  to  him, 
knowing  him  to  be  a  true  liberal.1     Telling  him 
my  circumstances  ;  I  offered  him  my  gold  repeat- 
er as  a  security,  if  he  would  lend  me  fifty  piastres, 
which  he  would  not  accept,  being  satisfied  with 
my  note.     He  appeared  to  be  more  afraid  than 
myself,  and  told  me  to  leave  the  turnpike,  and 
thus  pass  the  papal  frontier,  where  no  police   is 
stationed,  so  that  in  case  they  should  have  an  or- 
der to  stop  me,  I  might  elude  them.     But  I  knew 
that  I  had  nothing  to  fear,  for  the  friend  who  had 
advised  me  of  my  danger,  was  sure  that  no  step 
had  as  yet  been  taken  to  prevent  my  escape  ;  I 
was  also  certain  that  no  living  being  knew  the  di- 
rection I  had  taken,  for  I  deceived  them  by  leav- 
ing the  city  by  an  opposite  gate.    The  same  night 
I  passed  the  papal  frontier,  and  entered  the  terri- 
tory of  Tuscany.     I  cannot  describe  my  feelings 
when  I  saw  the  yellow  cockade  upon  the  hat  of 
the  soldier,  I  breathed  more  freely,  and  my  knees 
trembled  as  if  they  would  have  indicated  that  I 
should  bow  down  in  prayer  and  thanksgiving;  I 
raised  my  heart  to  the  God  of  mercies  who  pro- 

1  Liberals  are  all  those  who  oppose  the  temporal,  as 
well  as  spiritual  tyranny  of  the  Pope  of  Rome. 


PERSECUTION.  1G3 

tected  and  delivered  me  from  the  wicked  hands  of 
the  Roman  priests. 

The  Ducal  soldier  asked  me  for  my  passport,  I 
told  hicn :  "  I  have  none."  Then  he  invited  me  to 
appear  before  the  officer,  to  whom  I  said  :  "  That 
ecclesiastical  offences  obliged  me  to  leave  Rome, 
and  that  I  would  relate  the  circumstances  in  Flor- 
ence to  the  chief  director  of  the  police."  He 
smiled  and  said  :  "II  Signore  Abbate  amava  forse 
piu  le  Signorine  che  il  suo  Breviario."  [The 
Abbe  loved  perhaps  more  the  ladies  than  his  Bre- 
viary,] and  gave  me  a  temporary  passport,  in 
which  he  specified  the  towns  and  cities  through 
which  I  was  to  pass,  and  directed  me  to  show  it  to 
the  police  to  be  signed,  adding:  "I  rely  upon  you 
as  a  gentleman,  that  you  will  be  careful  in  keeping 
the  road  and  in  observing  my  instruction,  else  yon 
might  bring  both  of  us  into  great  ^ifheidties." 
After  an  assurance  upon  my  honor  I  left  him,  and 
at  the  distance  of  about  a  mile  from  that  place 
there  is  a  village,  where  I  remained  over  night. 

My  present  safety  and  timely  deliverance  from 
the  vengeance  of  a  merciless  Inquisition,  together 
with  that  pecuniary  aid  which  a  kind  Providence 
had  so  unexpectedly  sent  me,  directed  my  thoughts 
towards  the  Giver  of  all  good,  and  caused  my  heart 


164  PERSECUTION. 

to  overflow  with  gratitude  for  his  unbounded  love. 
The  following  Sunday  was  Pentecost.  I  asked 
permission  to  remain  three  days  in  Sienna,  which 
the  police  director  cheerfully  granted  ;  during  that 
time  I  provided  myself  with  some  linen  and  other 
indispensable  things  for  my  comfort.  The  next 
week  on  Wednesday  in  the  afternoon  I  arrived  at 
Florence.  At  the  gate  when  I  gave  up  my  tem- 
porary passport,  I  heard  one  of  the  officers  say: 
"Ecco  il  Signor  Abbate."  [Here  is  the  Abbe.] 
This  was  a  sufficient  indication  that  they  expect- 
ed me,  and  that  my  delay  in  Sienna  had  already 
created  suspicion. 

The  next  day  I  presented  myself  to  the  police 
with  the  ticket  I  had  received  at  the  gate  of  the 
city.  The  director  of  the  police  called  me  into  a 
private  room  and  inquired  into  the  cause  of  my 
leaving  Rome  without  a  passport.    I  showed  him 

the  letter  from  the  cardinal  del  G io,  and  told 

him  that  I  had  committed  no  other  crime  than  that 
I  read  the  Bible,  and  took  it  as  the  only  rule  of 
faith.  He  in  a  very  friendly  manner  told  me : 
"If  that  is  really  the  case  you  may  remain  here 
and  read  the  Bible  as  much  as  you  like  ;"  he  gave 
me  a  ticket  of  permission  for  eight  days ;  after 
that  for  a  fortnight;  then  for  a  month,  and  after 


PERSECUTION.  165 

that  for  three  months,  and  so  after  a  renewal  of 
the  permission  every  three  months,  I  remained  in 
Florence  two  years  and  six  months. 

I  passed  my  time  in  literary  occupations  and 
openly  professed  my  sentiments  ;  I  often  had  the 
pleasure  of  reading  the  Bible  and  conversing  on 
the  subject  of  vital  religion  with  numerous  priests 
and  several  young  abbes,  and  discussed  the  anti- 
biblical  doctrines  of  the  church  of  Rome,  and  re- 
ceived not  only  a  hearty  approbation  from  many 
of  them,  but  also  a  hearty  Amen  to  the  truth.  I 
was  invited  twice  to  the  Arch-bishop  of  Florence, 
who  had  a  friendly  interview  with  me,  but  as  I 
performed  no  ecclesiastical  duty,  I  cared  little 
about  his  smiles  or  his  frowns. 

I  cannot  exactly  say  how,  but  it  was  in  a  pro- 
vidential manner  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  the 
chaplain  of  the  Swiss  ambassador,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Colomb,  who  was  the  first  Protestant  minister 
with  whom  I  had  a  religious  interview,  but  as  he 
was  about  leaving  Florence,  he  gave  me  a  letter 
of  introduction  to  his  successor  the  Rev.  Mr.  Re- 
cordon,  who  arrived  shortly  after  his  leaving  the 
station.  I  enjoyed  the  company  of  the  Rev.  Mr. 
R.  frequently,  and  was  much  edified  with  it,  and 
I  must  say  to  him,  [if  this  book  should  ever  find 


166  PERSECUTION. 

its  way  into  his  hands,]  that  he  was  the  first 
christian  who  prayed  with  me,  and  showed  me 
that  a  biblical  knowledge  without  having  experi- 
enced the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  in  the 
heart,  is  insufficient  for  salvation. 

One  day  1  was  called  to  the  Prefect  of  the  po- 
lice, who  informed  me  that  they  had  received  a 
letter  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  stating:  "that 
the  court  of  Rome  reclaimed  me  as  a  Roman  sub- 
ject, and  that  they  were  obliged  to  send  me  back 
into  the  papal  State."  I  showed  him  how  dan- 
gerous it  would  be  to  my  personal  liberty  and 
even  life,  if  I  was  to  return  to  Rome,  I  made  an 
appeal  to  the  right  of  hospitality,  which  every  na- 
tion observes,  if  the  subject  who  is  demanded 
has  committed  no  crime.  He  told  me:  "I  know 
all  about  the  priest's  doings,  I  would  give  you  a 
piece  of  advice  if  you  are  willing  to  take  it ;  I 
will  delay  answering  the  letter  of  the  Secretary  of 
State  ten  days ;  in  the  mean  time  you  will  take 
your  passport  and  leave  the  city  of  Florence ; 
after  which  I  will  make  my  report,  that  you  are 
no  more  here,  so  you  will  be  released  from  all 
priestly  vexations.  For  [added  he]  whatever  an- 
swer we  may  gi\e,  Rome  will  insist  on  having 
her  subject;  the  Secretary  of  State  will  be  obliged 


PERSECUTION.  1()7 

[though  with  reluctance]  for  the  sake  of  etiquette 
and  peace  to  surrender  you  to  the  papal  power. 
But  if  you  are  not  here,  the  diplomatical  corres- 
pondence on  that  subject  must  of  course  cease." 
I  advised  with  my  Protestant  friend,  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Recordon,  who  was  of  the  same  opinion  ;  he 
gave  me  a  letter  of  introduction  to  the  brethren  in 
Lausanne  in  Switzerland  ;  so  I  left  Italy,  the  gar- 
den of  the  world,  the  seat  of  arts  and  sciences, 
my  sweet  home  forever;  yes  it  is  sweet,  and  even 
now  after  a  long  separation,  distance,  years,  and 
vicissitudes,  my  affection  is  not  diminished, 
but  rather  increased.  Though  I  have  spent 
thirteen  years  in  various  climates  since  I  left 
Italy,  yet  no  change  of  scene,  no  tropical  sun, 
nor  northern  ice  has  yet  and  never  will  ex- 
tinguish my  ardent  love  for  my  native  land.  The 
reader  who  never  felt  the  anguish  of  being  an 
exile  from  the  land  of  his  birth,  will  excuse  me  if 
I  for  a  moment  transmit  myself  to  that  land, 
where  I  first  opened  my  eyes  to  salute  the  sun, 
where  it  shines  brighter  than  in  any  latitude  in 
this  hemisphere;  I  seem  to  feel  it  even  now;  it 
pours  its  genial  rays  upon  my  head,  and  from  the 
head  they  descend  into  my  heart  and  extend 
through  nil  my  veins,  and  when  my  eyes  shall  be 


168  SWITZERLAND. 

dim  in  death,  my  tongue  paralized  and  speech- 
less, I  shall  not  cease  to  love  thee,  Italy. 


SWITZERLAND. 

I  arrived  in  Switzerland  towards  the  middle  of 
the  year  1829,  where  I  was  received  very  kindly, 
and  with  much  christian  affection  by  the  Protes- 
tants of  that  country.  It  is  necessary  that  I  give 
a  short  sketch  of  the  religious  state  of  Switzer- 
land, and  of  my  personal  progress  in  vital  religion 
while  in  that  country. 

With  regard  to  my  temporal  affairs,  I  took  great 
care  so  as  not  to  require  assistance  from  the  Pro- 
testants, in  order  that  none  should  have  reason  to 
think  that  my  leaving  Rome  had  been  induced  by 
sinister  motives ;  I  lectured  in  the  College  of  Lau- 
sanne on  the  Oriental  languages,  preparing  the 
students  who  were  in  the  last  year  of  the  philoso- 
phical faculty  for  the  preparatory  examination  of 
the  Theological  faculty,  and  thus  procured  an 
honorable  subsistence,  even  without  using  my 
own  pecuniary  resources. 

The  religious  state  of  the  Helvetic  church  was 
at  that   period    highly  interesting;  the  spirit  of 


SWITZERLAND.  1G9 

God  w  orked  wonderfully  upon  the  hearts  of  men; 
some  of  the  ministers  of  the  established  church 
had  been  awakened  from  their  spiritual  lethargy, 
and  preached  not  only  the  living  gospel  of  Christ, 
but  preached  also  against  socinianism,  which  was 
the  leading  doctrine  of  the  established  church; 
many  men  and  women  had  been  brought  to  a 
knowledge  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  and  unit- 
ed in  prayer  and  supplications  for  the  outpouring 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  with  those  faithful  ministers. 
These  the  ministerium  turned  out  from  their  com- 
munion, persecuting  the  faithful  ministers  with 
exile,  and  lay-members  with  imprisonment  and 
pecuniary  punishments.  But  in  spite  of  all  oppo- 
sition, that  little  persecuted  flock  daily  augment- 
ed, not  only  in  number,  but  also  in  zeal  and  god- 
liness. In  the  mean  time  the  French  revolution  of 
the  so-called  three  glorious  days  of  July,  1830, 
had  taken  place;  the  spirit  of  freedom  inflamed 
the  noble  hearts  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Canton 
de  Vaud,  who,  uniting  like  one  man,  dissolving 
the  House  of  Assembly,  elected  delegates  to 
frame  a  new  constitution,  which,  as  it  made  ample 
provision  for  the  enjoyment  of  religious  liberty, 
was  adopted  by  an  overwhelming  majority.  Now 
that  little  Hock  worshipped  their  God  according 
15 


170  SWITZERLAND, 

to  the  dictates  of  their  own  consciences,  without 
being  molested  by  the  ministerium  of  the  estab- 
lished church.  In  the  Canton  of  Geneva,  the 
spirit  of  vital  Christianity  spread  also  with  the 
rapidity  of  lightning,  but  the  spirit  of  aristocracy 
among  the  worldly,  and  socinianism  among  the 
clergy,  opposed  it  with  all  their  might ;  they  ex- 
pelled three  of  the  most  learned  and  respectable 
ministers  from  their  communion  ;  then  the  gaunt- 
let was  thrown  down  }  the  christians  took  it  up, 
and  continued  to  tight  the  good  battle  of  Christ. 
They  formed  themselves  into  a  church,  establish- 
ed a  seminary,  and  at  this  day  if  not  the  majority 
in  the  Canton  of  Geneva,  they  can  at  least  boast 
of  a  number  of  flourishing  congregations  in  the 
different  Cantons. 

Roman  Catholics  after  having  thrown  off  the 
yoke  of  papal  superstition,  are  sometimes  deterred 
from  an  immediate  union  with  Protestants,  and 
that  principally  on  account  of  that  systematic  or- 
der and  strict  union  to  which  they  were  accustom- 
ed in  the  church  of  Rome.  The  circumstance  at 
least  perplexed  me  ;  I  was  at  a  loss  what  to  do, 
whether  1  should  unite  with  the  established  church 
or  with  the  few  persecuted  christians.  However, 
after  a  rigid  examination  of  the  doctrines  of  both 


SWITZERLAND.  171 

parties,  I  resolved  to  unite  my  destiny  with  the 
feu*  despised  Gallileans,  and  share  with  them  per- 
secution for  Christ's  sake.  I  should  have  been 
very  sorry  to  have  exchanged  the  errors  of  the 
Roman  church  for  the  socinian  heresy.  So  I  re- 
mained two  years  in  Lausanne,  and  eight  months 
in  Geneva,  where  I  not  only  acquainted  myself 
more  fully  with  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  but 
also  learned  how  to  live  as  a  christian ;  how  to 
pray  for  the  conversion  of  the  church  of  Rome ; 
how  to  love  my  persecutors  as  well  as  my  friends. 
Entertaining  now  an  ardent  desire  to  sound  the 
same  clarion  of  grace,  mercy  and  peace,  which 
had  saluted  my  ears,  and  called  me  from  the  sable 
gloom  of  Roman  idolatry  to  the  clear  light  of  gos- 
pel truth,  also  to  others  ;  the  brethren  advised  me 
to  make  a  public  profession  of  my  faith,  to  show 
that  I  was  not  ashamed  of  that  gospel  which  is 
the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  that 
believeth.  This  1  did  in  Geneva  before  the  whole 
consistory  and  a  large  assemblage  of  people ;  in 
proof  of  which  I  annex  my  certificate  from  the 
consistory  of  the  Canton  of  Geneva,  declaring  my 
reception  as  a  member  of  the  Helvetic  confer  ion, 
and  my  admission  to  all  the  privileges  of  that 
church. 


V) %  FOUNDATION    OF   THE 

Nous  Sousigne  Secretaire  du  Consistoire  &0 
1'Eglise  Chretienne  Reform ee  de  Geneve  certi^ 
fions,  que  Monsieur  Louis  Giustiniani  a  Solem- 
nellement  declare,  qu'apies  avoir  pris  connais" 
sance  de  la  doctrine  et  du  culte  de  l'Eglise  Chre- 
tienne Reformee,  choisissait  liberement  cette  Eg- 
lise  pour  la  sienne,  et  qu'il  voulait  vivre  et  mourir 
dans  sa  communion.  En  consequence  le  Consis- 
toire l'a  admis,  selon  les  formes  voulues  par  le 
reglement  au  nombre  des  fideles  de  notre  com- 
munion  pour  participer  avec  nous  a  la  Ste.  Cene* 

Fait  a  Geneve  le  premier  Juillet  mil  huit  cent 
trente  un. 

Le  secretaire  du  Vener.  Consist. 

[L.  S.~]  BOURDILLON. 


THE  FOUNDATION  OF  THE  CHURCH 
OF  ROME. 

I  cannot  conclude  without  giving  some  histori- 
cal facts  of  the  foundation  of  the  church  of  Rome, 
in  order  that  the  Roman  Catholics  may  see  upon 
what  basis  their  church  is  built  and  upon  what 
ground  their  soul's  salvation  rests.  Our  Saviour 
calls  the  man  who  has  built  his  house  upon  a  rock 
wise.     For  he  says:  "The  rain  descended  and 


CHURCH   OF   ROME.  173 

the  floods  came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and  beat 
upon  that  house  and  it  fell  not,  for  it  was  founded 
upon  a  rock.1  The  apostle  Paul  speaking  to  the 
Corinthians  of  that  rock,  which  must  be  the  only 
foundation  of  the  christian,  says  :  "  That  rock  is 
Christ."2 

If  I  read  the  history  of  the  inquisition  and  com- 
pare it  with  that  of  the  reformation,  I  cannot  be- 
lieve that  the  church  of  Rome  is  built  upon  the 
rock  which  is  Christ.  I  will  not  speak  of  the 
^pns  and  hundreds  of  thousands  who  have  perished 
at  the  stake,  neither  of  the  slaughtered  Huguenots 
in  France,  nor  of  the  noble  army  of  martyrs  in 
Germany,  neither  of  the  strewed  ashes  of  the 
many  Auto  da  Fe,  of  which  the  church  of  Rome 
is  guilty,  and  with  which  she  defiled  her  garments 
as  a  testimony  of  her  crimes.  But  I  will  only 
state,  that  if  the  church  was  founded  upon  Christ 
the  rock,  she  could  have  withstood  the  flood  of 
the  reformation,  resisted  the  heavenly  rain  of  gos- 
pel truth  without  injury,  and  remained  unshaken 
like  a  rock  amidst  the  agitations  and  civil  convul- 
sions of  the  sixteenth  century.  Her  proud  vessel 
of  Catholicism  and  infallibility  could  never  have 

'Matt.  chap.  7,  v.  21. 

2l  Ep.  to  Cor.  chap.  10,  v.  4. 


174  FOUNDATION    OF   THE 

been  wrecked  by  the  adverse  wind  of  Luther's 
protestations. 

But  having  promised  to  give  historical  proofs 
of  her  foundation,  I  will  at  once  proceed.  There 
are :  1st.  Ambition.  2nd.  Usurpation.  3rd. 
Avarice,  and  4th.  Moral  corruption. 

To  prove  the  ambition  of  the  church  of  Rome, 
the  decree  of  Gregory  VII.  in  a  council  assembled 
in  Rome,1  the  so-called:  "  Dictator  a  Pontificis" 
will  be  sufficient ;  in  which  he  says  :  "  That  the 
pope  has  the  power  to  depose  kings  and  emper- 
ors, and  absolve  subjects  from  their  fidelity  and 
obedience  due  to  their  sovereign."2 

To  carry  out  this  principle,  the  same  Gregory 
VII.  dethroned  emperor  Henry  IV.  and  Bo- 
leslaus  II.  King  of  Poland. 

To  be  faithful  to  that  ambitious  dictatura,  pope 
Zacharias  deposed  Chidrique,  King  of  France, 
and  absolved  the  French  from  their  allegiance  to 
their  legitimate  sovereign,  and  placed  Pepin  upon 
the  throne  in  his  stead. 

Upon  the  same  ground  Boniface  VIII.  deposed 
Philip  le  Bell,3  and  hurled  the  thunders  of  ex- 

'Anno  1076. 

2Greg.  Septimup,  lib.  ii.  Ep.  30, 

"Anno  1302. 


CHURCH    OF   ROME.  175 

communication  against  him,  declaring :  "  That  it 
is  necessary  for  the  salvation  oi'  all  men  to  he  sub- 
ject to  the  Pope." 

Pope  Innocent  III.  dethroned  the  Emperor 
Otbon  IV. 

Pope  Innocent  IV.  deposed  Emperor  Fred- 
ric  II.,  and  pope  Julius  II.  took  the  kingdom  of 
Navarre  from  its  legitimate  sovereign  and  gave  it 
to  Spain. 

That  such  an  amhition  animated  all  the  popes, 
is  abundantly  evident  from  the  fact,  that  in  all 
rges  it  has  been  displayed  with  the  greatest  arro- 
gance. We  find  that  Innocent  III.,  who  dethron- 
ed the  Emperor  Othon,  did  the  same  to  king 
John  of  England,  and  declared  him  incapable  of 
governing,  and  absolved  the  English  subjects 
from  their  oath  of  allegiance  to  their  legitimate 
prince,  and  gave  the  kingdom  to  Philip  Auguste, 
king  of  France. 

Pope  Paul  III.  excommunicated  Henry  VIII., 
and  Pius  V.  the  queen  Elizabeth  of  England.1 

None  can  deny  that  the  Dictatura  Pontificis  of 

>ry  VII.  had  its  desired  effect,  and  the  above 

fads  show,  that  his  successors  have  been  faithful 

to  his   principles,  though   contrary  to  the  will  of 

'Anno  1:33  1. 


176  FOUNDATION,  &C. 

the  Lord,  who  expressly  commands  :  "  To  give- 
to  Caesar  what  belongs  to  Caesar,  and  to  God  what 
belongs  to  God."  The  Apostle  Paul  in  his  Epis- 
tle to  the  Romans,1  says,  "  Let  every  soul  be 
subject  unto  the  higher  powers,  for  there  is  no 
power  but  of  God,  the  powers  that  be  ordained 
of  God.  Whosoever  therefore  resisteth  the 
power,  resisteth  the  ordinance  of  God,  and  they 
that  resist  shall  receive  to  themselves  damnation." 
The  Apostle  Paul  cannot  speak  of  popes,  for  in 
his  time  there  were  none,  and  he  never  declared 
himself  to  be  one. 

The  ambitious  power  which  the  popes  assume, 
is  not  only  contrary  to  scripture,  but  also  to  the 
practice  of  the  primitive  church,  until  the  year  of 
our  Lord  1076,  when  the  ambitious  Gregory  Vll. 
established  his  Dictatura.  The  Emperors  had  a 
right  to  choose,  and  to  depose  the  bishops,  patri- 
archs and  popes.  The  following  historical  facts 
will  plainly  show  it.  The  Emperor  Othon  de- 
posed Pope  John  XII.  for  several  crimes,  but  es- 
pecially for  debauchery.  The  Emperor,  Henry 
III.  deposed  in  a  short  period  three  popes,  viz. 
Benedict  IX.,  Sylvester  III.  and  Gregory  VI.  not 
only  on  account  of  their  arrogance  in  assuming 

]Ep.  Rom.  xiii.  1,  2. 


USURPATION    OF   ROME.  177 

an  ecclesiastical  power,  belonging  to  the  civil  au- 
thorities, but  also  on  account  of  their  avarice. 


USURPATION  IS  ANOTHER  FOUNDA- 
TION OF  THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC 
CHURCH. 

That  the  church  of  Rome  has  usurped  a  pow- 
er over  the  other  bishops,  I  have  sufficiently  pro- 
ved in  a  preceding  chapter  on  Infallibility.  That 
these  pretentions  are  neither  founded  upon  the 
word  of  God,  nor  upon  the  practice  of  the  prim- 
itive church,  has  been  clearly  shown,  for  the  sin- 
gle fact,  that  neither  Peter,  nor  any  other  apostle 
did  ever  exercise  such  a  jurisdiction  over  their 
brother  apostles,  is  sufficient.  That  the  apostle 
did  not  preside  at  the  council  of  Jerusalem,  but  St. 
James  the  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  is  another  proof. 

According  to  the  doctrines  of  the  church  of 
Rome,  the  universal  bishop  or  pope  has  a  right 
to  preside  over  all  the  councils,  or  to  appoint  an- 
other bishop  in  his  place.  Can  any  Roman 
Catholic  show,  that  Peter  ever  presided  at,  or  ap- 
pointed any  other  apostle  to  preside  in  his  place 
at  any  council  ?  Certainly  not.  The  horror 
16 


178  USURPATION    OF   ROME. 

against  any  one  assuming  supremacy  was  so  great, 
that  when  John  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople, 
desired  to  assume  the  title  of  Universal  Bishop, 
supported  by  the  Emperor  Maurice,1  the  whole 
christian  world  was  so  shocked  at  such  an  inno- 
vation, that  they  called  it  a  doctrine  of  hell;  and 
pope  Gregory  the  great,  was  so  animated  with  a 
holy  zeal  for  the  glory  of  God,  that  he  opposed 
it  with  great  vigor,  and  denounced  it  as  a  temeri- 
ty never  before  heard  of.  He  wrote  to  Athana- 
sius,  Patriarch  of  Antioch,  in  the  following  terms, 
"  May  it  please  God  not  to  permit,  that  the  spir- 
it of  Christianity  should  be  so  infected  with  the 
opinion,  that  there  exists  a  bishop,  who  can  be 
called  Universal.''1 

To  the  Emperor  Maurice  he  declared,  "That 
any  bishop,  who  assumes  the  title  of  universal  is 
the  forerunner  of  anti-Christ."2  And  to  John, 
the  bishop  of  Constantinople  himself,  he  wrote 
in  beseeching  terms,  and  exhorted  him  not  to  con- 
sent to  that  spirit  of  pride,  folly  and  error ;  he 
represented  it  as  a  temptation  of  the  devil,  against 
which  he  warned  him.  These  were  the  last  dy- 
ing words  of  the  truth  in  the  Church  of  Rome. 

'Anno  600. 

2Greg.  Magn.  Lib.  vi.  Ep.  x. 


USURPATION    OF    ROME.  179 

Alas!  it  happened  in  that  dark  and  unfortunate 
period,  when  the  Emperor  Maurice  had  been  as- 
sasinated  by  Phoeus,  who  usurped  the  empire, 
and  who  gave,  in  order  to  fortify  himself  in  his 
tyranny,  the  title  of  Universal  Bishop  to  Boni- 
face III.  In  that  way  the  Popes  obtained  the 
supremacy,  and  gradually  usurped  the  authority 
over  the  other  bishops.  To  execute  this  scheme, 
they  addressed  to  Pope  Theodore,1  letters  with 
the  superscription:  "Holy  Father  of  fathers,  sov- 
ereign Pontiff  of  bishops."2 

The  churches  of  Dacia,  and  Illiria  strongly 
opposed  that  monstrous  usurpation,  which  they 
considered  both  blasphemy  and  apostacy.  France 
as  well  as  Spain  and  England,  protested  against 
it,  and  it  was  not  till  a  long  time  after  this  event, 
that  they  submitted  to  the  yoke  of  the  so-called 
universal  bishop  of  Rome. 

Such  is  the  short  history  of  the  usurpation  of 
the  title  of  Universal  bishop.  Such  is  the  his- 
tory of  the  birth  and  progress  of  papal  pretentions. 
Such  is  the  foundation  upon  which  the  infallible 
power  of  the  Pope,  and  the  hope  of  Roman  Cath- 
olics' salvation  rest. 

•Anno  642. 

2Siei-ebert  Hist.  Anno  G45. 


180  USURPATION    OF    ROME. 

The  usurpation  of  authority  over  men,  is  not 
the  only  crime  of  which  the  church  of  Rome  is 
guilty,  but  their  popes  have  tried  also  to  rob  God 
of  his  glory,  and  make  themselves  equal  with 
God.  If  they  would  only  limit  their  ambition  to 
rule  over  the  bishops,  it  would  be  impiety  enough, 
but  they  extend  even  their  ungodly  principles  so 
far  as  to  officiate  as  the  Vicars  of  Christ,  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments,  and  usurp  the  right  of 
being  the  sole  interpreters  of  the  living  word  of 
God.1  Is  it  a  wonder  that  Luther  resisted  the  am- 
bition of  Leo  X.?  Is  it  a  wonder  that  pope  Leo 
condemned  Luther?  Is  it  surprising  that  we  read 
the  abominable  Bull,  full  of  curses  against  the  Pro- 
testants, called,  "  Exurge  Domine  ?"2 

Will  Roman  Catholics  deny,  that  the  Pope 
styles  himself  "  God  on  earth  ?"  Let  them  go 
to  Rome,  they  will  read  on  the  gate  of  the  city  : 
44  P  aulas  III.  Pontifex  Opt.  Maxim,  in  terris 
Deus."  [Paul  III.  High  priest,  the  best,  the 
greatest,  and  God  on  earth.]  Without  going  to 
Rome  we  find  papal  arrogance  in  every  decree, 
which  comes  from  the  Vatican.  The  reader  will 
kindly  examine  the  conclusion  of  the   ordination 

'Bellarmine  Lib.  adversus  Barkl.  chap.  31. 
2Concil  Lateran.  V.  Bulla  Exume  Domine. 


USURPATION    OP   ROME.  181 

letter,  which  I  have  prefixed  at  the  beginning  of 
this  volume,  and  he  will  find  as  follows.  Page  7, 
line  11. 

"  Datur  Roma?  ex  8edibus  nostris  hac  die  pri- 
mam  raeasis  Februarii  anno  1827,  Jurisdict  XIV. 
Pontificates  S.  S.  in  Christo  Patris,  et  D.  n.  D. 
Leonis,  Divina  Providentia  Papos  XII.  anno  ejus 
IV.  &c.  &c." 

"  Given  in  Rome  from  our  Palace,  the  first  of 
February  1817,  the  XIV.  jurisdiction  of  the  most 
holy  Pontiff  and  Father  in  Christ,  and  Lord 
our  God,  the  Pope  Leo  XII.  through  the  Divine 
Providence,  the  IV  year  of  his  reign,"  <fec. 

Pope  Martin  V.  wrote  in  the  despatches  with 
which  he  furnished  his  ambassador  to  Constanti- 
nople :  "  Sanctissimus,  et  Beatissirnus,  qui  habet 
coeleste  arbitrium,  qui  est  Dominus  in  terris,  suc- 
cessor Petri,  Christus  Domini,  Dominus  Universi, 
Regum  Pater,  orbis  Lumen,"  &c.  In  plain  En- 
glish it  reads  simply  thus :  "  The  most  Holy  and 
most  happy,  who  is  the  arbiter  of  heaven,  and 
the  Lord  of  the  earth,  the  successor  of  St.  Pe- 
ter, the  anointed  of  the  Lord,  the  Master  of  the 
universe,  the  father  of  kings,  the  light  of  the 
world,"''  8,-c.  What  will  the  Emperor  of  China 
say,  who   pretends   to   be  the  Lord  of  the  Sun, 


182  USURPATION    OF    ROME. 

when  the  British  officers  tell  him  that  the  pope 
is  the  arbiter  of  heaven,  and  the  master  of  the 
universe  ?  What  must  the  grand  Sultan  think, 
who  declares  himself  emperor  of  the  moon  and 
stars,  when  he  hears  that  the  pope  is  not  only 
the  arbiter  of  heaven,  but  also  the  light  of  the 
world  ?  How  must  it  tickle  the  emperor  of  Rus- 
sia, and  the  fair  queen  of  England,  when  they 
are  told  that  the  Pope  calls  himself,  "  the  father 
of  kings?"  Is  it  not  painful  to  hear  in  the  light 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  such  absurd  doctrines 
as  these,  and  even  more  painful  to  see  people 
with  minds  so  totally  shrouded  in  ignorance,  as 
to  be  capable  of  believing  such  abominable  dog- 
mas ? 

To  call  a  man,  "  God  on  earth,  Vicar  of 
Christ,  most  Holy  Father,  Arbiter  of  heaven, 
and  Lord  of  the  Universe ,"  is  this  not  virtually 
making  him  equal  with  God  Almighty  ?  Is  it 
not  giving  God  a  competitor?  To  call  the  Pope 
"  the  anointed  of  the  Lord,  the  father  of  kings, 
and  the  light  of  the  world,"  is  it  not  blasphe- 
mous ?  can  such  titles  be  applied  to  any  other, 
except  to  Christ  himself,  without  the  profanation 
of  the  word  of  God,  or  without  committing  sac- 
rilege against  his  most  holy  Son?     Such  is  the 


USUItrATION    OF    ROME.  183 

foundation  upon  which  the  infallible  authority  of 
the  self-styled  universal  bishop  of  Rome  is  based. 
I  ask,  is  it  not  founded  upon  the  sand,  of  which 
our  Saviour  speaks  in  his  gospel  ?  I  repeat  it,  to 
call  the  Pope,  "  God  on  earth,"  is  blasphemy  so 
monstrous,  that  even  Satan  himself,  cunning  as 
he  is,  could  not  invent  a  greater  profanation  of  the 
name  of  God,  or  assume  greater  pretentions,  or 
manifest  a  more  infernal  spirit,  or  teach  a  more 
obnoxious  and  criminal  doctrine  than  this. 


AVARICE,    THE    CORNER     STONE    OF 
THE  CHURCH  OF  ROME. 

That  avarice  is  another  foundation  of  the  church 
of  Rome,  and  the  corner  stone  of  the  whole  po- 
pish edifice,  is  not  difficult  to  prove.  It  was  Bon- 
iface VIII.  who  begun  the  traffic  of  indulgences 
and  forgivness  of  sins.  It  was  he,  who  declared 
that  his  bulls  had  the  power  of  law,  and  were  re- 
ceived in  Purgatory  in  favor  of  souls.  To  amass 
greater  treasures,  the  Pope  sells  dispensations  of 
degrees  [forbidden  by  the  law  of  God,]  and  sanc- 
tions marriage  even  among  the  nearest  relations. 
The  bulls  of  bishops,  arch-bishops,  and  cardinal 


184  USURPATION    OF    ROME. 

hats  are  clearly  sold.  Is  it  surprising,  that  Sixtns 
IV  usually  said,  "  as  long  as  we  have  a  pen  and 
ink  to  write,  money  will  not  fail" 

Let  us  only  open  the  volumes  of  the  history  of 
papal  Rome,  and  we  will  find  that  at  the  time, 
when  England  was  yet  under  her  yoke,  the 
preaching  of  crusades  against  the  infidels,  and 
the  promises  of  the  remission  of  all  sins,  was  the 
order  of  the  day,  the  draining  of  England's  money 
was  carried  on  as  voraciously  as  a  leech,  drawing 
blood  from  the  veins ;  such  was  the  constant 
practice  of  the  popes.  Justly  therefore,  did  Pope 
Boniface  call  England,  "his  inexhaustable treas- 
ury." 

Let  us  look  to  Germany,  where  Tetzel  peddled 
Indulgences  by  order  of  the  Pope  Leo  X.  The 
avarice  of  the  Roman  Pontiffs  reached  such  a 
height,  that  the  princes  in  Germany  could  no 
longer  endure,  and  the  monarchs  no  longer  coun- 
tenance it.  It  was  not  Luther  who  caused  the 
protestation  against  the  corruptions  of  the  church 
of  Rome,  it  was  the  avarice  of  Leo  X.  which 
provoked  it,  and  accelerated  the  glorious  Reform- 
ation. With  all  these  historical  facts  before  him, 
will  an  enlightened  Roman  Catholic  buy  indul- 
gences ?      Will   he   continue    to   shut  his   eyes 


MORAL    CORRUPTION.  185 

against  the  gospel  truth  ?  Will  he  make  the 
avarice  of  the  court  of  Rome  the  foundation  of 
his  soul's  salvation  ?  "  O,  how  are  the  mighty 
fallen,  and  the  weapons  of  war  perished."1 


MORAL  CORRUPTION  OF  THE  CHURCH 
OF  ROME. 

What  can  be  expected  of  a  church,  which  is 
founded  upon  ambition,  usurpation  and  avarice  ? 
Is  it  not  certain,  that  she  will  even  fall  deeper 
into  the  abyss  of  error,  and  abandon  herself  to  all 
manner  of  corruption?  Such  is  the  actual  state 
of  the  church  of  Rome. 

Let  us  examine  the  lives  of  the  popes,  who 
governed  that  church  from  the  moment  she  be- 
gan to  degenerate  from  her  ancient  purity,  and  we 
shall  rind  events,  which  scarcely  have  a  parallel 
in  the  history  of  heathen  Rome,  and  which  must 
fill  every  moral  mind  with  disgust  and  horror. 

John  XL  governed  the  church  of  Rome  to- 
wards the  tenth  century,2  and  was  the  natural  son 
of  pope  Ssrgius.    His  debauched  life  corrcspond- 

'Samuel  chap.  i.  v.  27. 

2J3aronius  vita  Pontificis  ad  annum  931. 


1S6  MORAL    CORRUPTION. 

ed  with  his  illegitimate  origin.     Baronius    calls 
him,  "B  monster  of  iniquity" 

John  XII.  who  succeeded  that  monster,  was 
not  more  than  eighteen  years  of  age  when  he  oc- 
cupied his  place,  and  was  in  no  respect  better 
than  his  predecessor,  and  even  Baronius'  speaks 
of  him  with  execration  and  horror.  As  my  ob- 
ject is  however,  not  to  offer  at  present,  any  ex- 
tensive work  on  Popery,  I  can  only  refer  my 
readers  to  those  authors  who  have  written  the 
lives  of  the  Popes,  as  Luitprand,  Siegbert,  Pla- 
tina,  Onuphre  and  Baronius.  The  latter  char- 
acterizes John  XII.  as  a  gambler,  whore-monger, 
swearer,  Sabbath-breaker,  blood-thirsty,  and  a 
man  capable  of  all  iniquities.  That  great  histor- 
ian assures  us  that  his  death  was  in  conformity 
with  his  life;  that  he  died  in  the  midst  of  de- 
bauchery and  violent  agitations  of  the  devil.  It 
is  really  presumptuous  to  attempt  to  prove,  that 
such  men  were  chosen  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  in- 
fallible heads  of  his  blood-bought  church. 

A  certain  Boniface  poisoned  two  others,  in  or- 
der to  become  their  successor ;  and  Benedict  IX. 
was  not  more  than  ten  years  old,  when  he  was 
raised  to  the  seat  of  Peter,  by  the  bloody  faction 

'Baronius  vita  pontiff  ann.  955. 


MORAL    CORRUPTION.  187 

of  his  father,  who  [as  Baronius  says,]  was  a 
monster  sitting  upon  the  chair  of  St.  Peter. — 
There  were  periods,  when  we  had  three  popes 
at  the  same  time,  and  each  excommunicating  the 
others.  Some  [as  we  learn  from  history")  have 
been  murderers,  adulterers,  simoniacs,  perjurers, 
and  guilty  of  every  crime  imaginable.  To  say, 
that  these  were  chosen  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  be 
the  infallible  heads  of  his  true  church,  is  in  reality 
saying,  that  Jesus  Christ  had  chosen  the  infernal 
princes  to  announce  his  gospel,  and  appointed  his 
santanic  majesty  as  his  successor  to  dispense  the 
truth  of  his  church. 

Who  can  persuade  himself  that  God  had  chosen 
pope  Hildebrand,  and  such  like  profligates,  who 
had  been  sold  to  iniquity,  as  organs  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  Vicars  of  Christ?  But  why  need  I 
speak  of  a  period  before  the  reformation  1  Go, 
reader,  go  to  Rome  now,  enter  within  the  so-called 
metropolis  of  the  Catholic  church,  and  you  will 
find  every  evening,  [as  soon  as  it  is  dark]  carri- 
ages of  cardinals  and  bishops  before  different 
houses,  not  indeed  before  palaces,  where  the  no- 
ble lady  resides,  but  before  the  humble  dwelling 
of  the  citizens,  where  their  eminences  and  my 
lord  bishops  spend  the  evening  with  their  respec- 


188  MORAL    CORRUPTION. 

tive  ladies,  at  the  card  tables  or  other  games  of 
Italian  lovers  ;  even  the  humble  confessor  has  his 
house,  where  he  spends  his  evenings  with  his  fair 
penitent  at  some  game.  You  will  see  at  ten 
o'clock,  when  the  husband  arrives,  his 


eminence 


or  my  lord  bishop  preparing  to  leave,  and  accom- 
panied by  the  husband  with  a  lighted  candle  in 
one  hand,  and  with  the  other  pressing  the  conse- 
crated hand  of  the  purple  clothed  priest  to  his 
lips,  and  kissing  it  as  an  act  of  veneration  and 
gratitude  for  having  spent  the  evening  at  a  game 
with  his  wife. 

Only  go  to  Rome,  and  you  will  see  the  indis- 
posed fair  penitent  remain  in  her  bed,  and  the 
Franciscan  friar  leaving  his  sandals  before  the 
door  of  her  bed  chamber,  as  an  indication  that  he 
is  performing  some  ecclesiastical  act,  then  none 
not  even  the  husband  can  enter  the  chamber  of 
his  wife,  until  the  Franciscan  friar  has  finished 
his  business  and  leaves  the  chamber;  then  the 
husband  with  reverence  ready  waiting  at  the  door, 
kisses  the  hand  of  the  father  Franciscan  for  his 
kindness  for  having  administered  spiritual  com- 
fort to  his  wife,  and  very  often  he  gives  him  a 
dollar  to  say  a  mass  for  his  indisposed  spouse. 


MORAL   CORRUPTION.  18(J 

But  why  shall  I  speak  of  the  moral  corruption 
of  popery  in  Rome  ?  it  is  every  where  the  same ; 
it  appears  differently,  but  never  changes  its  char- 
acter. In  America,  where  female  virtue  is  the 
characteristic  of  the  nation,  the  only  stronghold 
of  the  American  republic,  it  is  under  the  control 
of  the  papal  priest.  If  a  Roman  Catholic  lady* 
the  wife  of  a  free  American,  should  choose  to 
have  the  priest  in  her  bed-room,  she  has  only  to 
pretend  to  be  indisposed  and  asking  for  the  spiri- 
tual father  the  confessor,  no  other  person,  not  even 
the  husband  dare  enter.  In  Rome  it  would  be  at 
the  risk  of  his  life ;  in  America  at  the  risk  of  be* 
ing  excommunicated,  and  deprived  of  all  spiri- 
tual privileges  of  the  church,  even  excluded  from 
heaven. 

But  enough,  I  will  no  longer  bespatter  my  pa* 
ges  with  the  immorality  of  the  priests  of  the  city 
of  Rome ;  I  will  finish  in  the  language  of  the 
celebrated  speaker  in  the  council  of  Trent,  Father 
Anlonius  Paganus,  a  minoritc  of  the  order  of 
St.  Franciscus.  "I  am  silent  [says  that  orator] 
respecting  public  adulteries,  rapes  and  robberies; 
I  pass  over  the  great  effusion  of  christian  blood, 
unlawful  exactions,  impositions  gratuitously  ac- 
cumulated, and  for  whatsoever  cause  they  were 


% 

190  MORAL    CORRUPTION. 

introduced,  persevered  in  without  cause,  and  in*1 
numerable  oppressions  of  this  kind ;  I  pass  over 
the  proud  pomp  of  clothing,  extraordinary  expen- 
ses beyond  the  requirements  of  their  station  in 
life,  drunkenness,  surfeits,  and  the  inordinate 
nlthiness  of  luxury,  such  as  never  took  place  be- 
fore. Women  were  never  less  modest  and  bash- 
ful ;  young  men  were  never  more  unbridled  and 
undisciplined;  the  old  were  nevermore  irreligi- 
ous and  foolish ;  in  fine,  never  was  there  in  any 
person  less  fear  of  God,  honor,  virtue,  and  mo- 
desty ;  and  never  did  carnal  licentiousness,  abuse 
and  irregularity  prevail  to  such  an  extent.  For 
what  greater  abuse  and  irregularity  can  be  imagin- 
ed than  a  pastor  without  watchfulness,  a  preacher 
without  works,  a  judge  without  equity,  a  lawyer 
without  honesty,  a  magistrate  without  decorum, 
laws  without  observance,  a  people  without  obedi- 
ence, religious  professors  without  devotion,  the 
rich  without  shame,  the  poor  without  humility, 
women  without  pity,  the  young  without  discip- 
line, the  old  without  prudence,  and  every  chris- 
tian without  religion  ?  It  was  for  a  similar  rea- 
son that  David  said :  «  God  looked  down  from 
heaven  upon  the  sons  of  men,  to  see  if  there  was 
any  one  who  was  wise,  and  sought  God.    All  had 


MORAL    CORRUPTION.  101 

gone  out  of  the  way,  all  were  become  unprofit- 
able, there  was  no  one  that  did  good,  not  one.' 
And  Jeremiah  says  :  '  They  all  from  the  least  to 
the  greatest  seek  covetousness,  and  from  the 
prophet  even  unto  the  priest  every  one  dealeth 
falsely."  '  ' 

I  will  continue  to  show  the  moral  corruptions 
of  the  church  of  Rome  by  their  own  writers,  and 
next  I  refer  my  readers  to  a  witness  whom  no 
Roman  Catholic  can  repudiate ;  she  not  only 
being  a  canonized  saint,  but  also  her  book  of  Re- 
velations, from  which  I  quote,  has  been  sanction- 
ed by  two  councils  and  three  popes,  viz  :  by  the 
councils  of  Constance  and  Basilea,  and  Popes 
Urban  VI.,  Martin  V.  and  Paul  V.,  I  allude  to  the 
Revelations  of  Santa.  Bridget,  a  most  devoted 
member  and  canonized  saint  of  the  church  of 
Rome.  Christ  is  represented  by  her  as  express- 
ing himself  respecting  the  popes  in  the  following 
terms  :  "  Now,  therefore,  I  complain  of  thee,  the 
head  of  my  church,  who  sittest  in  my  seat,  which 
I  delivered  to  Peter  and  his  successors  to  sit  there- 
on with  a  triple  dignity  and  authority.  First, 
that  they  should  have  the  power  of  blading  and 

'SecLabbaoi.  20,  1219— 1223. 


102  MORAL    CORRUPTION. 

loosing  souls  from  sin;  secondly,  that  they  should 
open  heaven  to  the  penitent;  thirdly,  that  they 
should  shut  heaven  against  the  accursed  and  the 
blasphemous.     But   you   who    ought   to    loosen 
souls,  and  to  present  them  to  me,  you  truly  are 
slayers  of  souls.     For  I  appointed  Peter  the  pas- 
tor and  preserver  of  my  sheep.    But  you  are  their 
dispersers  and  tormentors.     You  are  worse  than 
Lucifer.     For  he  envied  me,  and  desired  to  slay 
me  only,  in  order  that  he  might  rule  in  my  stead; 
but  you  are  worse  than  him,  forasmuch  as  you 
not  only  slay  me,  by  removing  me  from  thee  by 
your  evil  works,  but  you  also  slay  souls  by  your 
bad  example.     1  have  redeemed  the  souls  with 
my  blood,  and  have  committed  them  to  you  as  to 
a  faithful  friend,  but  you  betray  them  to  the  invet- 
erate enemy  from  whom  I  redeemed  them.     You 
are  more  unjust  than  Pilate,  who  sentenced  no 
one  beside  me  to  death.     But  you  not  only  con- 
demn me,  as  if  Lord  of  no  one,  and  worthy  of  no 
good  thing,  you  also  condemn  innocent  souls  and 
dismiss  the  guilty.    You  are  more  merciless  than 
Judas,  who  sold  me  only,  but  you  not  only  sell 
me,  but  also  the  souls  of  my  elect,  for  vile  gain, 
and  for  an  empty  name.     You  are  more  abomi- 
nable than  the  Jews,  they  crucified  only  my  body, 


MORAL    CORRUPTION.  193 

but  you  crucify  anil  punish  the  souls  of  my  elect 
to  whom  your  malice  and  wrong  is  more  bitter 
than  any  sword.  Therefore,  because  you  are  like 
Lucifer,  more  unjust  than  Pilate,  more  cruel  than 
Judas,  and  more  abominable  than  the  Jews,  I  pro- 
perly complain  of  you."  1 

Among  the  many  authorities,  I  shall  adduce 
only  another  impartial  evidence  of  Honorius 
Augustoduncnsis,  a  celebrated  scholastic  divine 
of  Autun,  who  lived  in  the  twelfth  century. 
44  Turn  to  the  citizens  of  Babylon ;  and  observe 
what  manner  of  people  they  be,  and  by  what 
ways  they  walk ;  come  hither,  to  the  top  of  the 
mountain,  that  thou  mayest  behold  all  the  habita- 
tions of  the  damned  city.  Look  upon  her  princes 
and  judges,  cardinals  and  arch-bishops,  the  very 
seal  of  the  beast  is  placed  upon  them.  All  day 
they  are  intent  to  do  evil ;  ever  insatiably  occu- 
pied in  the  works  of  iniquity.  They  not  only 
themselves  perform,  but  instruct  others  in  flagiti- 
ous wickedness.  They  offer  things  sacred  for 
sale,  and  labor  with  all  their  might  that  they  may 
not  descend  alone  into  hell."2     Such  are  the  pic- 

' Revelation  Sancta?  Brig.  lib.  i.  cliap.  41,  Colonic. 

'Dial,  de  Pracdest.  et  lib.  arbit.  cited  by  White  in 
his  reply  to  the  Jesuit  Fisher. 

17 


194  HOLY    COUNCILS. 

tures  of  papal  Rome  by  their  own  divines  and 
saints.  Will  Roman  Catholics  yet  shut  their  eyes 
to  the  truth  ?  Will  they  longer  continue  in  error 
without  examining  and  investigating  the  founda- 
tion of  their  soul's  salvation?  or  rely  upon  the  ipse 
dixit,  the  words  of  the  priests  ?  In  Italy  where 
the  paid  spies  listen  to  every  sigh,  where  the  In- 
quisition interprets  every  word,  and  punishes  it  as 
heresy,  Roman  Catholics  are  in  a  measure  excu- 
sable, but  in  a  Protestant  country,  in  America,  the 
land  of  freedom,  the  country  of  the  Bible,  among 
an  enlightened  and  progressive  nation,  it  will  be 
to  the  greater  damnation  to  those  who  neglect 
their  soul's  salvation. 


THE  HOLY  COUNCILS  OF  THE 
CHURCH  OF  ROME. 

I  am  an  enemy  of  every  thing  which  has  only 
the  appearance  of  acrimony  much  more  of  hos- 
tility ;  but  when  I  think  of  the  soul-destroying 
doctrines  of  the  church  of  Rome,  and  that  even 
after  the  clear  demonstration  of  the  corruptions  of 
the  heads  of  their  church,  [the  popes,]  some  will 
stilt  be  guided  by  prejudices,  saying:  "It  is  uo- 


HOLY   COUNCILS.  195 

deniable  [so  it  is  indeed]  that  there  were  popes* 
who  have  been  immoral  and  corrupt,  but  that  does 
not  affect  the  church  and  its  principles.  If  any 
man  can  show  us  that  the  church  of  Rome  itself 
in  its  principles  is  corrupt  and  immoral,  then  wC 
shall  abandon  it  as  an  incurable  system  of  error." 
The  definition  of  the  church  of  Rome  is  quite 
different  from  the  general  acceptation  of  the  word* 
and  the  Biblical  conception  which  Protestant 
theologians  have  formed.  The  Protestant  divines 
divide  the  church  into  visible  and  invisible  ;  each 
of  them  forms  a  separate  body.  A  person  may 
be  a  member  of  the  visible  Protestant  church* 
without  being  a  living  member  of  the  mystical 
body  of  Christ;  and  vice  versa, a  person  may  be 
a  child  of  God  without  ever  having  joined  a  visi- 
ble church.  That  is  not  the  case  in  the  papal 
church  ;  for  in  that  church  the  members  and  pro- 
fessors of  the  Roman  faith  do  not  constitute  the 
church,  but  the  bishops  in  council,  with  the  infal-> 
lible  pope  at  the  head,  guided  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
constitute  the  visible  and  invisible  church.  For" 
the  councils  being  the  sole  interpreters  of  the 
word  of  God,  and  the  pope  being  the  infallible 
head,  expresses  through  the  Holy  Spirit  the  sen-* 
timents  of  the  church,  [viz  :  of  the  councils,  J  and 


19(3  holv  councils. 

whosoever  denies  that  authority,  they  without  any 
hesitation  anathematize  in  their  usual  phraseology* 
"  Let  him  be  cursed."  I  will  therefore  prove  that 
the  councils  have  been  corrupt  in  doctrines  i  irn* 
moral  in  principles  and  contradictory  in  their 
proceedings. 

Not  only  the  popes  as  private  individuals  were 
corrupt  and  immoral,  but  the  General  Councils 
have  been,  like  the  Roman  pontiffs,  a  stigma  on 
religion  and  a  disgrace  to  humanity.  What  were 
these  conventions  in  point  of  respectability?  They 
unhappily  were  inferior  to  an  assembly  of  the  low^ 
est  plebeians,  yes!  inferior  to  a  modern  cock-fight 
or  a  bull-baiting  in  a  circus  of  the  city  of  Rome.1 

St.  Gregory  Nazianzen,  who  stands  high  in  the 
estimation  of  the  church  of  Rome,  for  his  learn- 
ing and  virtue ;  who  is  adored  as  a  saint,  and 
whose  writings  are  adopted  as  a  standard  by  all 
their  theologians,  describes  the  councils  with  the 
pencil  of  truth  and  With  the  hand  of  a  master.  "  I 
never  [says  the  Grecian  bishop]  saw  a  Synod 
Which  had  a  happy  termination.  These  conven- 
tions instead  of  diminishing,  unfortunately  aug* 

'This  barbarous  custom  is  even  yet  kept  up  in  the 
city  of  Rome,  constituting  one  of  the  summer  amnse- 
ments  of  that  city. 


• 


HOLY   COUNCILS.  197 

mented  the  evil  which  they  were  intended  to 
remedy.  Passion,  jealousy,  envy,  prejudice  and 
the  ambition  of  victory  prevail  and  surpass  all  des- 
cription. Zeal  is  actuated  rather  by  malignancy 
to  the  criminal  than  aversion  to  the  crime." 

He  farther  compares  the  dissensions  and  wrang- 
ling exhibited  in  the  councils,  to  the  quarrels  of 
geese  and  cranes,  gabbling  and  contending  in  con- 
fusion ;  and  represents  such  disputation  and  vain 
jangling  as  calculated  to  demoralize  the  spectator 
rather  than  to  correct  or  reform.  This  portrait, 
which  is  taken  from  life,  exhibits  in  graphic  deli- 
neation and  in  true  colors,  the  genuine  features  of 
all  the  general,  infallible,  apostolic  councils  of 
Holy  Rome.  Let  us  take  a  glance  at  the  General 
Synods  of  Constantinople,  Nice,  Lyons,  Con- 
stance and  Basil,  which  are  in  a  particular  man- 
ner worthy  of  our  observation.  These  conventions 
we  shall  show  have  been  composed  of  the  lowest 
rabble  and  patronized  the  vilest  abominations. 

The  Bizantine  assembly,  which  was  the  se- 
cond general  council,  has  been  faithfully  described 
by  St.  Gregory  Nazianzen.  This  convention  the 
saint  characterizes  as  a  cabal  of  wretches  fit  for 
the  house  of  correction,  fellows  taken  newly  from 
the  plough,  the  spade,  the  oar,  and  the  army. 


198  HOLY    COUNCILS. 

Such  is  a  Roman  saint's  sketch  of  that  most  holy, 
apostolic  and  unerring  council.  I  will  give  it  in  a 
note  in  his  own  words,  in  his  own  language,  and 
the  reader  will  see,  that  I  have  not  exaggerated  in 
the  description.1 

The  second  Nicscan  council,  without  any  re- 
gard of  their  sacred  office,  unblushingly  approved 
of  perjury  and  fornication.  The  holy  infallible 
Synod  in  loud  acclamation,  approved  of  a  most 
disgusting  and  filthy  tale,  taken  from  "the  Spiri- 
tual Meadow"  by  sanctioning  such  sins.  I  will 
give  an  outline  of  the  tale,  recounting  only  those 
parts  which  can  be  related  with  propriety. 

"A  monk  [according  to  the  story]  had  been 
haunted  with  the  spirit  of  fornication  from  early 
life  till  hoary  age.  The  lascivious  propensity 
which  is  all  that  could  be  meant  by  the  demon  of 
sensuality,  had  seized  the  solitary  in  the  fervor  of 
youth,  and  continued  its  temptations  even  in  the 
decline  of  years.  One  day  when  the  spirit  [or 
more  probably  the  flesh]  had  made  an  extraordi- 
nary attack  on  the  anchorite,  he  begged  the  foul 

'Alii  ab  aratris  venerant  adusti  a  sole  ;  alii  a  ligone, 
vel  bidente  totam  diem  non  quiescente;  alii  jemos 
exercitus  ve  reliquerant,  redolentes  adhuc  sentinam 
vel  corpus  faedatum  cicatricibus  habentes  in  Flagri- 
ones,  et  pistrinis  digni.  St.  Greg.  Ep.  labb.  2,  1158. 
Du  Pin  1,259. 


HOLY    COUNCILS.  199 

fiend  to  depart,  as  he  was  now  arrived  at  the  years 
of  advanced  age,  [when  such  allurements  through 
attendant  debility  should  cease.]  The  devil  ap- 
pearing in  his  proper  form,  promised  a  cessation 
of  arms  if  the  hermit  would  swear  to  tell  no  per- 
son what  he  was  going  to  say.1  The  monk  with- 
out hesitation  obeyed  the  devil,  and  bound  him- 
self by  oath  to  secrecy.  The  devil  administered, 
and  the  monk  swore.  He  swore  by  the  Most 
High  never  to  divulge  what  Belial  would  tell. 
The  solitary,  it  appears,  was  sufficiently  acquaint 
ed  and  on  very  good  terms  with  Beelzebub,  who 
as  an  act  of  intimate  friendship,  promised  to  with- 
draw his  temptations  if  the  monk  would  quit 
worshipping  a  statue  of  Lady  Mary,  carrying  her 
son  in  her  arms. 

The  monk,  though  decrepit,  it  seems,  did  not 
reject  the  temptation  with  becoming  resolution. 
He  requested  time  for  consideration.  And  next 
day,  notwithstanding  his  oath,  he  revealed  the 
whole  circumstance  to  the  Abbot  Theodorus,  who 
lived  in  Pharan.  The  holy  Abbot  f  who  was,  as 
the  reader  can  easily  perceive,  a  Roman  Catholic 

'Jura  mihi,  quod  ea  quae  tibi  dicam  nemini  sirrnifi- 
cabis,  et  non  amplius  tecum  pugnabo.  Crab.  2,  520. 
Bin.  5,  642. 


200  HOLY    COUNCILS. 

theologian,]  called  the  oath  a  delusion,  at  the 
same  time  he  approved  of  the  confession,  and  in 
consequence  [notwithstanding  his  sanctity,]  ap- 
proved of  the  perjury  too. 

The  devil,  it  appears,  according  to  popish  di- 
vinity, is  considered  a  heretic,  which  as  a  matter 
of  course,  warranted  the  violation  of  faith  with 
his  infernal  majesty.  St.  Theodorus  told  the 
monk,  "  you  ought  rather  to  visit  all  the  brothels 
in  the  city,  than  omit  worshipping  Immanuel  and 
his  mother  in  their  images."1  What  a  blasphe- 
my ;  not  to  speak  of  the  immoral  inculcation, 
but  only  of  the  heresy,  the  anti-scriptural  senti- 
ments which  are  expressed  in  his  words.  To  be 
called  a  heretic  by  such  men,  and  excommunica- 
ted by  such  pontiffs,  is  a  great  honor,  it  is  a  great 
blessing.  The  manner  in  which  that  saint  solved 
a  case  of  conscience,  showed  that  his  ability  as  a 
casuist,  exceeded  his  morality  as  a  man. 

Returning  to  the  tale  of  "  the  Spiritual  Mea- 
dow," we  find,  that  Satan  afterward  appeared  to 
the  monk  indignant,  and  accused  him  of  perjury, 

1 "  Expedit  tibi  potius,  ut  non  dimittas  in  civitate 
ista  lupinar,  in  quod  non  introeas,  quam  ut  recuses 
adorare  Dominum  et  Deum  nostrum  Jesum  Christum, 
cum  propria  matre  sua  in  immagine."  Labbeus  8, 
902. 


HOLY    COUNCILS.  201 

and  pronounced  his  doom  at  the  day  of  judgment. 
It  strikes  me  that  the  devil  had  felt  a  greater  hor- 
ror of  perjury  than  the  papal  monk,  and  preached 
better  morality  than  saint  Theodoras,  or  the  Holy 
General  Council.  The  anchorite,  in  his  reply  to 
the  fiend,  admitted  that  he  had  perjured  himself, 
but  declared  that  he  had  not  abjured  his  God. 

Such  is  the  tale  as  related  in  the  Sacred  Synod, 
from  "  the  Spiritual  Meadow."  The  holy  fath- 
ers of  the  council  with  unanimous  consent,  ap- 
proved of  the  conduct  of  the  monk,  as  well  as  of 
the  saint  Theodoras,  and  by  their  approbation, 
showed  the  refinement  of  their  taste  for  debauch- 
ery, by  sanctioning  the  advice  rather  to  visit  all 
the  brothels  in  the  city,  than  omit  worshipping 
their  goddess,  or  in  other  words,  it  is  better  to 
be  a  perjurer,  a  profligate,  and  debauchee,  than 
to  forsake  the  adoration  of  the  holy  Virgin  Lady 
Mary. 

Theodoras'  sermon,  which  is  so  warmly  re- 
commended by  the  Sacred  Synod,  incouraged  the 
monk,  rather  than  forsake  his  idol,  which  in  all 
probability,  was  a  parcel  of  worthless  lumber,  to 
launch  into  the  troubled  waters  of  prostitution,  and 
with  crowded  canvass  and  swelling  sail,  to  sweep 
the  wide  ocean  of  licentiousness. 
18 


202  HOLY    COUNCILS. 

The  picture  of  sensuality  as  presented  in  the 
Abbot's  holy  advice,  seems  to  have  tickled  the 
fancy  and  feeling  of  the  holy  fathers  of  the  apos- 
tolical council,  who  appeared  to  have  been  actu- 
ated with  the  same  spirit  in  the  council,  as  the 
monk  in  his  cell.  The  old  sensualists  gloated 
over  the  scene  of  voluptuousness,  which  the  The- 
odorian  theology  had  presented  to  their  view. — 
The  aged  libertines  seemed  to  be  entirely  enam- 
ored of  the  tale,  caused  it  to  be  repeated  in  the 
fifth  session,  for  the  laudable  purpose  of  once 
more  glutting  their  libidinous  imagination  with  its 
filthiness. 

Even  the  Caroline  books,  [the  production  of 
the  French  king  and  prelacy,]  deprecated  the 
story  as  an  unprecedented  absurdity  and  pesti- 
lential evil.  Du  Pin,  the  great  Roman  Catholic 
historian,  actuated  with  the  sentiments  of  a  man 
and  a  christian,  condemns  the  synod,  equally  de- 
precates the  whole  transaction,  and  even  refuses 
to  translate  the  Abbot  of  Pharan's  holy  homily. 

Using  the  language  of  a  modern  writer,1  who 
says,  "  The  Nicoeans  nevertheless,  boasted  of 
their  inspiration.     The  sacred  synod,  amid  all  its 

'Sam.  Eager,  of  the  infallibility.  Page  1G9. 


HOLY    COUNCILS.  203 

atrocities,  pretended  to  the  immediate  influence  of 
heaven.  The  divine  afflatus,  forsooth,  passed 
through  these  sinks  of  pollution,  and  made  the 
•consecrated  ruffians  the  channels  of  supernatural 
communications  to  man.  The  source  of  their  in- 
spiration, if  the  holy  fathers  felt  such  an  impulse, 
is  easy  to  tell.  The  spirit  which  influenced  the 
secluded  monk,  seems  to  have  been  busy  with 
the  worthy  bishops,  and  to  have  stimulated  their 
imaginations  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  obscene 
story,  and  the  approbation  of  its  foul  crimin- 
ality." 

The  holy  infallible  council  of  Lyons,  has  been 
delineated  in  a  portrait  taken  from  life  by  Math- 
eus  Paris,  a  contemporary  historian,  who  recounts 
that,  "  Pope  Innocent,  retiring  from  the  General 
Council  of  Lyons,  in  which  he  had  presided, 
cardinal  Hugo  made  a  farewell  speech  for  His 
Holiness,  and  the  whole  court  to  the  citizens  who 
had  assembled  on  the  occasion,  to  witness  the  de- 
parture of  his  infallible  lordship.  "  Friends,  (said 
the  cardinal,)  we  have  effected  a  work  of  great 
utility  and  charity  in  this  city.  When  we  came 
to  Lyons,  we  found  three  or  four  brothels  in  it, 
and  we  have  left  at  our  depasture  only  one.     But 


204  HOLY    COUNCILS. 

this  one  extends  from  the  eastern  to  the  western 
gate  of  the  city."1 

The  inspired  fathers  of  that  council  who  should 
have  been  patrons  of  purity,  seem  on  this  occa- 
sion to  have  been  the  agents  of  demoralization 
throughout  the  city  in  which  they  assembled. 
The  same  historian,  (cardinal  Hugo,)  speaking  in 
the  name  of  His  Holiness,  gloried  in  his  shame, 
and  talked  of  the  abominations  of  himself  and  his 
companions  in  a  strain  of  railery  and  unblushing 
effrontery. 

The  Constantine  council  was  characterized  by 
father  Paptiza,  one  of  its  own  members,  as  the 
most  infernal.  His  portrait  is  frightful.  The 
clergy,  he  declared  were  nearly  all  under  the 
power  of  the  devil,  and  mocked  all  religion  by 
external  devotion,  and  pharisaic  hypocrisy.  The 
prelacy,  actuated  only  by  malice,  iniquity,  pride, 
vanity,  ignorance,  lasciviousness,  avarice,  pomp, 
simony,  and  dissimulation,  had  exterminated 
Catholicism,  and  extinguished  piety.2 

irrria  vel  quotuor  prostibula  invenimus.  Unum 
solum  relinquimus.  Verum  ipsum  durat  continuatum 
ab  orientali  porta  civitatis  usque  occidentalem.  Mat. 
Paris,  page  792. 

2Baptiza  2,  page  95. 


HOLY    COUNCILS.  205 

The  character  of  the  holy  bishops,  appeared 
from  their  company,  to  be  the  most  destitute  and 
wretched.  More  than  seven  hundred  public  wo- 
men, according  to  Dachery's  account,  attended  to 
the  sacred  synod.  Though  the  Vienna  manu- 
script reckons  the  number  of  these  female  attend- 
ants, whom  it  calls  vagrant  prostitutes  at  fifteen 
hundred. 

"  This  was  a  fair  supply,  (says  Samuel  Edger, 
page  170,)  for  the  thousand  holy  fathers,  who 
constituted  the  Constantine  council." 

Brays,  another  Roman  Catholic  writer,  adds  : 
"  These  courtesans  were  in  appearance  intended 
to  exercise  the  chastity  of  the  clergy."  As  far  as 
my  knowledge  extends  of  priestly  chastity,  I  have 
no  doubt  whatever,  that  their  company  contributed 
no  little  to  the  entertainment  of  the  learned  di- 
vines, and  introduced  great  variety  into  their 
amusements. 

The  Council  of  Basil  taught  the  theory  of 
filthiness,  as  that  of  Constance  had  exhibited  the 
practice.  Curlerius,  the  champion  of  the  Roman 
church  in  the  Basilian  assembly  against  Nicolas, 
the  Bohemian  heretic,  advocated  the  propriety  of 
tolerating  stews  in  the  city.1     This  hopeful,  and 

JHaec  ptstis  maneat  in  urbibus.     Canisius  4,  457. 


B 


206  HOLY    COUNCILS. 

to  the  fathers  of  the  council  pleasing  thesis,  the 
hero  of  the  faith  supported  by  the  authority  of 
St.  Augustine  and  Acquinas.  "  Remove  prosti- 
tutes, (says  Augustine  as  cited  by  Carlerius,)  and 
you  will  disturb  all  things  with  licentiousness. 
Human  government  should  (says  the  saint)  im- 
itate the  divine ;  but  God  (according  the  saint) 
permits  some  evils  in  the  universe,  and  therefore 
so  should  man."  1 

His  saintship  speaks  by  experience,  and  shows 
that  his  logic  is  as  good  as  his  morality.  For 
simple  fornication  is  to  be  permitted  to  avoid  a 
greater  evil.  The  Roman  population  at  large, 
and  especially  the  husbands,  experienced  the 
effects  of  that  holy  decision  of  the  council  of 
Basil. 

I  will  say  nothing  of  the  hateful  and  degrading 
doctrine  of  materialism,  patronized  in  the  coun- 
cils of  Nice,  Vienna  and  Lateran ;  I  will  only 
state  that  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  purgatory  box 
is  kept  as  the  only  panacea  for  the  soul's  salva- 
tion. It  is  not  astonishing1  that  transubstantiation 
is  taught  as  an  article  of  faith,  and  the  wafer-god 

'Aufer  meretrices  de  rebus  humanis,  turbaveiis  om- 
nia libidinibus.  Labb.  17,  986.  Deus  permittit  ali- 
qua  mala  fieri  in  universe     Acquinas  ii.  10,  11. 


HOLY    COUNCILS.  207 

elevated  for  the  adoration  of  the  christians.  It  is 
not  surprising  that  a  rosary  is  substituted  for  the 
atoning  blood  of  the  Redeemer  of  the  world  ;  that 
bones  and  rags  of  all  kinds  are  adored  instead  of 
the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the 
world.  It  is  not  astonishing  that  ignorance,  pre- 
judice and  superstition  cover  like  dark  clouds,  the 
mind  of  papists,  and  that  inquisitions,  tortures 
and  blood  have  been  the  means  of  the  aggrandize- 
ment to  the  church  of  Rome,  when  the  Roman 
pontiffs  and  the  General  Councils  were  (according 
to  the  accounts  of  their  own  historians,)  sunk  into 
the  lowest  depths  of  vice  and  abomination.  A 
rapid  view  of  the  six  centuries,  that  preceded  the 
reformation,  sketched  by  the  warmest  partizans  of 
the  papacy,  will  show  the  correctness,  truth  and 
justice  of  this  imputation. 

The  tenth  century  has  been  portrayed  by  the 
pencil  of  Sabellicus,  Stella,  Baronius,  Gianone 
and  Du  Pin.  No  man  can  read  them  without 
shedding  tears  over  the  church  of  Christ.  Stupor 
and  forgetfulness  of  morals  invaded  the  minds  of 
men.  All  virtue  fled  from  the  pontiff  and  the 
people.  This  whole  period  was  characterized  by 
obduracy,  and  an  inundation  of  overflowing  wick- 
edness.    The  Roman  church  was  filthy  and  de- 


208  HOLY   COUNCILS. 

formed,  and  the  abomination  of  desolation  was 
erected  in  the  temple  of  God.  Holiness  had  es- 
caped from  the  world,  and  God  seemed  to  have 
forgotten  his  church,  which  was  buried  in  a  chaos 
of  impiety.  I  will  let  their  own  faithful  historians 
speak  in  the  note  below,  and  the  reader  will  be 
convinced  of  the  immorality  and  open  corruption 
of  the  church  of  Rome.1 

The  eleventh  century  has  been  described  by 
Gulielmus,  Paris,  Spondanus  and  Baronius.  Gu- 
lielmus  portrays  the  scene  in  dark  and  frightful 
colors.  "Faith  was  not  found  on  earth,  all  flesh 
had  corrupted  its  way.  Justice,  equity,  virtue, 
sobriety  and  the  fear  of  God  perished,  and  were 
succeded  by  violence,  fraud,  stratagem,  malevo- 
lence, circumvention,  luxury,  drunkenness  and 
debauchery.  All  kinds  of  abomination  and  incest 
were  committed  without  shame  or  punishment." 
The  colors  used  by  Paris,  are  equally  black  and 

•Stupor  et  amentia  qusedam  oblivioque  nr.orum  in- 
vaserat  hominum  animos.     Sabellicus  II. 

Quis  non  puterit  Deum  oblitum  ecclesiae  suae.  Spon 
iii.  p.  908. 

Contingent  abominationem  desolationis  in  templo. 
Baron,  i.  p.  900. 

L'eglise  etait  dans  un  etat  pitoyable,  defiguree  par 
les  plus  grands  desorderes,  et  plongee  dans  un  chaos 
d'impietes.  Gionnon  vii.  5.  Du  Pin  2,  p.  156.  Bruy 
2,  p.  316. 


HOLY    COUNCILS.  209 

shocking.  "  The  nobility  (says  the  English  his- 
torian) were  the  slaves  of  gluttony  and  sensuality. 
All  in  common  passed  their  days  and  nights  in 
protracted  drunkenness  and  sensual  entertain- 
ments. They  provoked  surfeit  by  voraciousness 
and  vomit  by  inebriety."  The  outlines  of  Spon- 
danus  and  Baronius  correspond  with  those  of 
Gulielmus  and  Paris.  Piety  and  holiness  (these 
historians  are  obliged  to  confess)  had  fled  from 
the  earth,  whilst  irregularity  and  iniquity  among 
all  and  in  an  especial  manner  among  the  clergy, 
every  where  reigned.  The  sacraments  in  many 
parts  of  Christendom,  ceased  to  be  dispensed. 
The  few  men  of  piety,  from  the  unparalleled  at- 
trocity  of  the  times,  thought  that  the  reign  of  anti- 
christ had  commenced  and  that  the  world  was 
hastening  to  its  end."1 

The  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries  were  simi- 
lar in  their  morals,  and  have  been  faithfully  des- 

rFides  deficerit,  et  domini  timor  erat  de  medio  sub- 
latus.  Perierat  de  rebus,  justicia  et  aequitate  subacta, 
violentia  dominabatur  in  populis.  Fraus,  dolus,  et 
circumventio  late  involverant  universa.  Fides  non 
inveniebatur  super  terram,  omnis  caro  corrumperat 
viam  suam.     Bell.  Sacram.  i.  8. 

Optimates  gulae  et  veneri  servientes,  in  cubiculis, 
et  inter  uxores  complexus.  Potabatur  ab  omnibus  in 
commune,  et  tam  dies  quam  noctes,  in  hoc  studio  pro- 
ductaj  sunt.  In  cibis  urgebant  crapulam,  in  potibus 
vomicam  irritabant.  Paris  5,  1001.  Spontanus  ii. 
p.  1001.     Bruy2,  31G. 


210  HOLY    COUNCILS. 

cribed  by  Morlaix,  Honorius  and  St.  Bernard. 
According  to  the  two  former,  the  picture  is  a 
melancholy  one.  Piety  and  religion  seemed  to 
bid  adieu  to  man,  and  for  these  were  substituted 
treachery,  fraud,  impurity,  rapine,  schism,  quar- 
rels, war  and  assassination.  The  throne  of  the 
beast  seemed  to  be  fixed  among  the  clergy  who 
neglected  God,  stained  the  priesthood  with  impu- 
rity, demoralized  the  people  with  their  hypocrisy, 
denied  the  Lord  by  their  works,  and  rejected  the 
revelation  which  God  gave  for  the  salvation  of 
man.1 

St.  Bernard1  s  picture  of  the  priesthood,  is  cer- 
tainly not  complimentary,  and  his  character  of  the 
laity,  is  of  the  same  unfavorable  description.  Ac- 
cording to  this  saint,  the  putrid  contagion  had  in 
his  day,  crept  through  the  whole  body  of  the 
church,  and  the  malady  was  internal,  and  could 
not  be  healed.  The  conduct  of  the  prelacy  in  se- 
cret, was  too  gross  for  expression.     Therefore, 

lLa  fraude,  Timpurete,  les  rapines,  les  schismes,  les 
querelles,  les  guerres,  les  trahison,les  homicides  sont 
en  vogue.  Adieu  la  piete  et  la  religion.  Morlaix  in 
Bruy  2,  547. 

Tourn  toi  vers  le  clerge,  tu  y  verra  la  tente  de  la 
Bete,  lis  negligent  le  service  divin.  lis  souillent  le 
sacerdoce  par  leur  impuretez,  seduisent  le  peuple  par 
leur  hypocresie,  renient  Deupar  leurs  ouvres.  Hono- 
rius in  Bruy  2,  547. 


HOLY    COUNCILS.  211 

the  saint  left  the  midnight  monstrosity  in  its  na- 
tive and  congenial  darkness.1 

And  when  he  addressed  himself  to  the  clergy  of 
his  time,  he  gives  a  full,  but  the  most  hideous  sketch 
of  the  moral  depravity  of  his  brethren  and  the 
church  in  general.  He  loads  the  canvass  with  the 
darkest  colors.  "  The  clergy,  (said  the  monk  of 
Clairvaux,)  are  called  pastors,  but  in  reality  are 
plunderers,  who,  unsatisfied  with  the  fleece,  thirst 
for  the  blood  of  the  flock,  and  merit  the  appellation, 
not  of  shepherds,  but  of  traitors,  who  do  not  feed, 
but  slay  and  devour  the  sheep.  The  Saviour's 
reproach,  scourges,  nails,  spear  and  cross,  all 
these,  his  ministers  who  serve  anti-Christ,  melt 
in  the  furnace  of  covetousness,  and  expend  for 
the  acquisition  of  filthy  gain,  differing  from  Judas 
only  in  the  magnitude  of  the  sum  for  which  they 
6pll  their  master.  The  degenerate  ecclesiastics, 
prompted  by  avarice,  dare  for  gain,  even  to  bar- 
ter assassination,  adultery,  incest,  fornication,  sac- 
rilege, and  perjury.  Their  extortions  they  lavish 
on  pomp  and  folly.  These  patrons  of  humility, 
appear  at  home  amid  royal  furniture,  and  exhibit 

'Serpit  hodie  putrida  tabes  per  omne  corpus  Kcclos- 
133.  Intestina  et  insanabilis  est  plaga  Ecclesiae,  quae 
enim  in  oeculto  facia  ab  episcopis,  turpe  sunt  dicere. 


212  HOLY   COUNCILS. 

abroad  in  meretricious  finery  and  theatrical  dress. 
Sumptuous  food,  splendid  cups,  overflowing  cel- 
lars, drunken  banquets,  accompanied  with  the 
lyre  and  the  violin,  are  means  by  which  these 
ministers  of  the  cross  evince  their  self-denial  and 
indifference  to  the  world."1 

The  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries  have 
been  delineated  by  the  bold,  but  faithful  pens  of 
Alliaco,  Petrarch,  Mariana,  Aegidius,  Mirandula, 
and  Fordum. 

Alliaco's  description  is  very  striking  and  sig- 
nificant. "  The  church,  (said  the  cardinal,)  is 
come  to  such  a  state,  that  it  is  worthy  of  being 
governed  only  by  reprobates."  Petrarch,  with- 
out any  hesitation,  calls  Rome,  "  Babylon  the 
great  whore,  the  school  of  error,  and  the  temple 
of  heresy."  The  court  of  Avignon,  he  pronoun- 
ced, "  The  sink,  and  sewer  of  all  vice,  and  the 
house  of  hardship  and  misery." 

Marian,  that  celebrated  historian  complains,  as 
every  christian  would  do,  who  loves  his  church, 
he   sheds   tears   over   the   destitute   state  of  the 

'Dicemini  pastores  cum  sitis  raptores,  sitiis  enim 
sanguinem.  Non  sunt  pastores  sed  traditores.  Min- 
istri  Christi  sunt,  et  serviunt  anti-Christo ;  ven- 
dunt  homicidia,  adulteria,  fornicationes,  sacrilegia, 
perjuria.     St.  Bernard,  page  1725 — 1728. 


HOLY   COUNCILS.  213 

church  of  Rome,  which  he  loves  with  his  whole 
heart.  "  Every  enormity  had  passed  into  custom 
and  law,  and  was  committed  without  fear;  shame 
and  modesty  were  banished,  while  by  a  mon* 
strous  irregularity,  the  most  dreadful  outrages,  per* 
fidy  and  treason  were  better  recompensed  than 
the  brightest  virtue.  The  wickedness  of  the 
pontiff,  and  the  corruptions  of  the  fathers  of  the 
councils,  descended  to  the  people,"1  A  book  of 
three  hundred  pages  is  not  ample  enough  to  con* 
tain  all  the  historical  facts  of  the  degraded  state, 
anti-biblical  decisions,  and  moral  corruptions  of 
the  most  holy,  apostolic,  and  infallible  councils  of 
the  papal  religion.  I  will  conclude  with  the  lofty 
sentiments  of  the  zealous  Roman  Catholic  writer, 
the  never  dying  Italian  poet,  Petrarch. 

"  Gia  Roma,  or  Babilonia,  falsa,  e  ria,"  &c. 

"  Formerly  Rome,  now  Babylon,  false  and 
guilty — hell  of  the  living!  It  will  be  a  great 
miracle,  if  Christ  is  not  angry  with  thee  at  last !" 2 

I  ask  every  man  of  sincerity,  I  make  an  appeal 
to  every  christian,  without  any  distinction  of  reli* 

'Les  plus  grand  crimes  etaint  presque  poussez  en 
coutume  et  en  loi,  on  les  commitoit  sans  crainte,  la 
bonte  et  la  poudeur  etaient  banies,  et  par  un  deregle- 
ment  monstrueux,  les  plus  noirs  attentats,  les  perfid- 
ies, les  trahisons  etait  meux  recompensees  que  ne  l'eta- 
ient  les  vertus  \es  plus  ecclatants.     Marian  5,  718. 

2Petrarch,  vol.  4,  p.  149. 


214  HOLY   COUNCILS. 

gious  party,  to  tell  me  where  the  Roman  chUfcrl 
isj  if  she  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  holy  apostolic 
and  unerring  councils,  where  shall  we  look  for 
her?  In  the  priests?  They  are  subject  to  the 
direction  and  obedience  of  the  popes,  and  have 
no  ,other  authority  than  that  which  is  conferred 
upon  them  by  the  supreme  pontiff,  the  most  holy 
infallible  head,  the  pope.  When  Luther  inter- 
preted the  scriptures  according  to  his  own  con- 
science, the  pope  excommunicated  him  as  a  heretic^ 

Shall  we  seek  the  church  in  the  corrupt  power 
of  the  so-called  vicar  of  Christ?  Roman  Cath- 
olics say,  "  The  popes  have  been  men  like  oth- 
ers, [and  they  were  bad  men  indeed,]  who  had 
their  faults,  whom  we  consider  as  the  head  of  the 
church,  but  not  the  church  itself." 

Shall  we  seek  the  church  in  the  people,  which 
would  be  the  very  place  according  to  the  word  of 
God  ?  The  pope  of  Rome  would  say,  "  That  is 
heresy.  They  have  no  right  to  interpret  the  Bi- 
ble by  themselves ;  that  is  Lutheranism.  Let  it 
be  accursed."  For  as  soon  as  the  people  begin 
to  be  the  church,  they  have  a  right  to  decide  in 
matters  of  faith,  and  make  the  Bible  their  rule  of 
faith  if  they  choose.  That,  according  to  the 
present  statutes  of  the  papal  church  is  a  prerog- 


YUCATAN*.  1 1  ;> 

alive  which  belongs  exclusively  to  the  sacred 
councils  presided  over  by  the  pope,  as  the  head 
of  the  church. 

The  reader  sees  that  the  councils,  or  in  othe^ 
words,  the  bishops  controlled  by  the  pope,  are 
the  church  of  Rome.  That  is  the  reason  that 
they  conclude  every  article  of  faith,  [I  say 
every  article  without  exception,^  with  the  words* 
"  Whosoever  denies  it,  let  him  be  accursed.'''' 

Roman  Catholics!  be  sincere,  let  sound  reason* 
rectitude  of  mind,  purity  of  conscience  prevail 
for  an  hour ;  listen  not  to  me,  but  to  the  history 
of  your  own  writers.  Read  the  bloody  history 
of  your  church ;■  examine  the  corrupt  decisions 
of  your  councils  ;  number  (if  you  can,)  the  im- 
moral acts  of  those  fathers,  who  wrote  the  artU 
cles  of  your  faith.  Inquire  into  the  truth,  if  it 
is  to  be  found  in  those  polluted  channels  of  the 
councils,  or  in  the  pure  fountain  of  the  living 
word  of  God.  Search  the  scriptures,  for  in  them 
you  will  find  eternal  life. 

Look  to  the  deplorable  state  of  Mexico,  enter 
into  the  examination  of  the  state  of  Yucatan.--*- 
You  will  see  that  those  palaces,  now  in  ruins, 
have  been  inhabited  by  a  civilized  people ;  and 
judging  from  the  architecture  of  the  ruins,  it  was 


216  YUCATAN. 

a  nation  of  taste,  in  the  possession  of  arts  and 
sciences,  as  the  Chinese  and  other  nations,  who 
had  not  been  in  contact  with  the  civilization  of 
Europe. 

It  is  not  yet  three  hundred  years,  that  the  Span- 
iards took  possession  of  it,  that  they  came  under 
the  iron  rod  of  priestly  government  and  papal  influ- 
ence. "  They  are  no  more."  Their  palaces  lie 
in  ruins ;  arts  and  sciences  are  lost ;  the  nation 
perished,  and  the  wild  ruins  are  living  monu- 
ments of  the  melancholy  effects  of  papal  influence. 
Study  the  progressive  spirit  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  and  you  will  find  in  all  the  Protestant 
countries,  commerce  (if  not  flourishing)  at  least 
not  languishing;  steamboats,  manufactories,  rail- 
roads for  the  facility  of  their  communication; 
arts  and  sciences  generally  incouraged ;  and  liber- 
ty of  conscience  and  of  the  press  as  the  vehicle 
of  social  actions.  Go  to  Italy,  Spain  and  Portu- 
gal, to  our  neighbors  of  South  America,  you  will 
find  misery,  ignorance,  oppression  and  a  convul- 
sive strugle  between  the  principles  of  liberty  and 
papal  tyrany* 

Columbia !  thou  land  of  freedom,  asylum  of 
the  oppressed;  the  tyrant's  scourge  and  freeman's 
joy;  patern  of  all  nations  and  the  people's  coun- 
try.    Shall    Yucatan' 's   doom   be   thine  ?      Wilt 


t 

YUCATAN.  217 

thou  allow  thy  cherished  sons  to  become  slaves 
of  Jesuits,  and  thy  lovely  daughters  demoralized 
by  priests  and  monks  as  those  in  Italy?  Wilt 
thou  permit  that  thy  political  institutions,  which 
have  been  dearly  bought  with  the  blood  of  thy 
first-born  heroes,  to  be  effaced  by  the  coward 
hand  of  a  priest,  who  sways  his  bloody  sceptre 
in  Rome?  No.  That  cannot  be.  Thou  art 
young,  it  is  true,  but  wise  enough.  Thou  art 
inexperienced  in  the  strategems  of  Jesuits,  in- 
trigues of  monks,  and  hness  of  popery,  but  thou 
art  strong  enough  to  strike  the  blow  in  time.  O  ! 
Italy !  Italy !  why  art  thou  not  stronger  or  less 
beautiful!  Conquered,  or  conqueror,  thou  art  al- 
ways a  slave  ! 

Roman  Catholics !  freedom  of  thought,  liberty  of 
conscience,  is  my  aim,  happiness  of  mind,  peace 
of  heart  is  my  principal  desire,  and  the  salvation  of 
your  souls,  my  only  prayer  ;  which  the  adoration 
of  images,  the  kissing  of  relics,  the  kneeling  be- 
fore the  host,  the  money  for  purgatory,  the  hear- 
ing of  a  latin  mass  which  you  do  not  understand, 
or  the  counting  of  the  beads  of  the  Rosary,  will 
not,  and  cannot  give.  None  but  Jesus  Christ,  the 
only  Mediator  between  God  and  man,  can  save ; 
if  lie  make  you  free,  ye  shall  be  free  indeed. 
19 


JESUITISM. 

My  intention  is  not  to  write  what  I  have  heard 
from  others  respecting  those  devoted  children  of 
the  zealous  Ignazius  Loyola,  but  what  I  have  seen 
and  observed  by  my  frequent  intercourse  with 
them.  Having  been  a  pupil  in  the  college  of  the 
Jesuits,  I  must  confess,  that  from  what  I  know 
and  have  seen  of  them,  they  are  worthy  sons 
of  such  a  father. 

The  name  Jesuit  is  one  of  reproach  among 
Protestants  ;  in  Rome  it  commands  respect  ming- 
led with  fear.  In  Protestant  countries  they 
(though  numerous)  are  never  apparently  seen ; 
but  in  Rome  they  are  every  where  present.  Pro- 
testants abhor  Jesuitism,  (and  well  they  might) 
for  the  name  Jesuit  is  associated  with  regicide 
and  the  gunpowder  plot,  with  the  bloody  night  of 
St.  Bartholomew  and  the  desolation  of  Europe; 
in  Rome  they  are  not  only  the  chief  counselors  of 
every  project,  but  the  executors  of  every  plan 
framed  by  the  secret  council  of  the  Vatican.  To 
kill  kings  is  out  of  the  question,  for  they  know 
that  without  the  assistance  of  kings  they  will 
never  succeed  in  oppressing  liberty  and  opposing 


•  i:>i  iti.vm.  2\\) 

the"  progressive  spirit  of  the  nineteenth  century* 
Neither  is  there  danger  that  modern  Jesuitism 
will  teach  molinism  and  probabilism,  for  the  pre* 
sent  generation  is  too  virtuous,  and  science  has 
found  its  way  out  of  their  doors.  With  all  these 
it  is  still  the  ever-living  spirit  of  Jesuitism. 

A  Jesuit  is  an  amphibious  being;  he  is  (accord-1 
ing  to  his  constitution)  neither  a  monk  nor  a  secu- 
lar priest;  still  he  is  both  when  required.  The 
spirit  of  domination  is  the  foundation  of  his  order, 
and  at  the  same  time  you  see  him  creeping  like  a 
worm  in  the  dust  to  be  (apparently)  crushed  by 
every  foot  that  passes  by.  He  is  a  monarchist  in 
Austria,  a  revolutionist  in  France,  an  autocrat  in 
Italy  and  a  republican  in  the  United  States.  Ill 
one  word  he  is  every  thing,  in  order  to  obtain  his 
aim,  for  the  end  sanctifies  the  means.  A  Jesuit 
is  like  a  bat;  when  the  cat  comes,  it  says:  "I 
am  a  bird,"  extending  its  wings  and  flies;  if  the 
hawk  appears,  it  creeps  in  the  darkest  holes  and 
exclaims  :  "  I  am  a  mouse."  Such  is  the  char- 
actei  of  Jesuitism. 

To  become  a  Jesuit  and  to  be  welcomed  at  their 
doors,  a  person  must  have  one  of  the  three  requi- 
sites, talents,  nobility  or  money.  Talent  is 
the  chief  object,  nobility  is  preferred  before  mo- 
ney, 


;22U  JESUITISM, 

The  bull  of  restoration  by  Pius  VII.  in  the  yeai 
1814,  was  an  unfortunate  event  for  the  church  of 
Rome  ;  not  only  because  it  has  restored  the  Jesu- 
its,  but  because  it  gave  a  tremendous  blow  to  the 
infallible  authority  of  the  pope ;  it  showed  that  the 
bull  of  Clement  XIV.  in  which  that  pontiff  sup- 
pressed  and  annulled  the  order  of  the  Jesuits  was 
wrong,  and  how  can  we  know  that  his  bull  of 
restoration  is  right  ?  Popery  boasts  loudly  of  its 
uniformity  of  creed,  unity  of  actions  and  infalli- 
bility of  authority,  but  is  it  not  surprising  to  see 
the  same  authority  in  contradiction  with  itself? 
The  house  is  divided  and  it  must  fall.  But  as 
there  is  no  effect  without  a  cause,  so  the  soi  dist- 
ant infallible  heads  did  nothing  without  a  good 
cause,  and  that  cause  was  self-interest.  In  the 
year  1773,  Clement  XIV.  saw  his  interest  in  the 
destruction  of  the  Jesuits ;  Pius  VII.  restored  it 
for  the  same  reason.  Clement  acted  before  the 
revolution,  Pius  after  it.  The  revolution  was  the 
line  of  demarcation. 

Jesuitism  and  the  reformation  are  contempor- 
aneous; like  cause  and  effect,  so  was  one  the 
effect  of  the  other.  The  light  of  reformation 
broke  through  the  dense  darkness  of  papal  super* 
stition ;  the  so-called  seat  of  Peter  was  shaken* 


JESUITISM.  221 

the  thunders  of  the  Vatican  were  rendered  pow- 
erless ;  the  church  was  attacked  and  wounded  in 
the  most  vital  part ;  nothing  but  a  holy  militia 
could  save  her  from  entire  destruction.  The 
period  of  reformation  was  short,  the  spirit  of  Lu- 
ther was  soon  spent,  and  the  period  of  Protestant- 
ism and  the  spirit  of  polemics  unfortunately  took 
its  place ;  instead  of  uniting  against  the  common 
enemy,  the  children  of  the  reformation  disagreed 
in  doctrinal  points,  and  divided  on  the  same 
ground.  Germany  and  Switzerland  were  the 
theatre,  and  the  Jesuits  not  inactive  spectators  of 
those  trying  times.  The  Bible  and  reason  were 
the  greatest  enemies  to  papal  darkness  and  were 
evaded  by  the  Jesuits,  whilst  the  banner  of  science 
and  erudition  was  unfurled  in  their  stead.  During 
the  time  that  the  sons  of  the  glorious  reformation 
discussed  their  dogmatical  points,  the  Jesuits 
fought  in  the  foremost  ranks  for  popery,  raised 
again  the  beaten  down  standard  of  Rome  and  tried 
to  give  new  lustre  to  the  ancient  honors  of  the 
triple  crown. 

It  would  be  ridiculous  if  I  were  to  make  any 
distinction  between  ancient  and  modern  Jesuitism, 
for  that  sect  never  changes.  The  leopard  may 
change  its  spots  and  the  Ethiopian  his  color,  but 


222  JESUITISM. 

Jesuits  will  remain  always  the  same.  They  are 
as  in  time  of  old,  cunning  and  sagacious  in  gain- 
ing the  favor  of  the  great  and  the  heart  of  youth. 
Jesuitism  is  all  activity  as  in  the  day  of  its  origin  ; 
having  determined  to  go,  they  advance,  they  re- 
solve to  accomplish  an  object  and  succeed.  To 
realize  a  project  they  evade  all  laws  ;  they  clear 
them  by  a  leap  or  trample  them  under  foot  as 
they  did  before  their  suppression.  If  they  aim 
at  an  object,  they  exert  all  these  influences,  resort 
to  stratagems,  equivocations  and  intrigues  to  ob- 
tain it,  for  conscientious  scruples  are  trifles.  The 
evil  has  risen  to  a  point  where  concealment  ie  cri- 
minal. Charity  is  due  to  the  righteous,  not  to 
men  who  are  guilty  of  delinquencies  against 
righteousness  to  such  a  high  degree. 

It  is  not  more  than  twenty-eight  years  since 
they  have  been  restored  by  the  good  but  imbecile 
Pius  VII.,  and  they  have  their  foot  upon  every 
kingdom  and  empire  in  both  hemispheres  of  the 
globe.  In  Europe  the  people  had  a  severe  lesson 
of  the  past,  and  their  progress  is  slow,  though 
their  influence  great.  In  the  United  States  the 
free  political  institutions  and  the  separation  be- 
tween church  and  state  are  favorable  for  the  pro- 
gress of  Jesuitism ;  North  America  is  the  chosen 


JESUITISM.  223 

Land,  the  second  Paraguay.  In  Europe  the  Jesuits 
are  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  State; 
under  the  vigilance  of  the  police,  only  as  long  as 
they  promote  the  interest  of  the  State  in  the  king- 
dom in  which  they  live,  they  are  tolerated;  but 
in  America  they  are  under  the  entire  direction  of 
the  pope.  The  political  prosperity  of  the  United 
States  and  the  promotion  of  their  interest  are  not 
the  interest  of  a  foreign  Jesuit,  who  is  the  citizen 
of  Rome,  and  is  obliged  by  oath,  without  mental 
reservation,  not  to  become  a  citizen  of  any  here- 
tical or  Protestant  power ;  not  to  recognize  any 
other  head  but  the  pope  residing  in  Rome,  as  the 
oath  of  the  Jesuits  will  show. 

JESUIT'S  OATH. 

"I,  A.  B.,  now  in  the  presence  of  Almighty 
Cod,  the  blessed  Virgin  Mary,, the  blessed  Mich- 
ael the  archangel,  the  blessed  St.  John  the  Bap- 
tist, the  holy  apostles  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  and 
the  saints  and  the  sacred  host  of  heaven,  and  to 
you  my  ghostly  father  do  declare  from  my  heart, 
without  mental  reservation,  that  His  Holiness 
pope  Gregory  XVI.  is  Christ's  Vicar  General, 
and  is  the  true  and  only  Head  of  the  Catholic 


224  JESUITISM. 

or  Universal  Church,  throughout  the  earth;  and 
that  by  the  virtue  of  the  keys  of  binding  and 
loosing  given  to  his  holiness  by  Jesus  Christ, 
he  hath  power  to  depose  heretical  kings,  princes , 
states,  commonwealths,  and  governments,  all 
being  illegal,  ivithout  his  sacred  confirmation, 
and  that  they  may  safely  be  destroyed  ;  there- 
fore, to  the  utmost  of  my  power,  1  shall  and  will 
defend  this  doctrine  and  his  holiness's  rights  and 
customs  against  all  usurpers  of  the  heretical  or 
Protestant  authority  whatsoever,  especially  against 
the  new  pretended  authority  and  church  of  En- 
gland, and  all  adherents,  in  regard  that  they  and 
she  be  usurpal  and  heretical,  opposing  the  sacred 
mother  church  of  Rome.  /  do  renounce  and 
disoivn  my  allegiance  as  due  to  any  heretical 
king,  prince,  or  state,  named  Protestants,  or 
obedience  to  any  of  their  inferior  magistrates  or 
officers.  I  do  further  declare  the  doctrine  of  the 
church  of  England,  of  the  Calvanists,  Hugue- 
nots, and  other  Protestants,  to  be  damnable,  and 
those  to  be  damned  who  will  not  forsake  the 
same.  I  do  further  declare,  that  I  will  help,  as- 
sist, and  advise  all,  or  any  of  his  holiness'  agents 
in  any  place  wherever  I  shall  be ;  and  do  my  id- 
most  to  extirpate  the   heretical   Protest- 


JESUITISM.  225 

ants'  droctrinc,  and  to  destroy  all  their  pretend- 
ed powers,  regal  or  otherwise.  I  do  further  pro- 
mise and  declare,  that  notwithstanding  I  am  dis- 
pensed to  assume  any  religion  heretical,  for  the 
propagating  of  the  mother  church's  interest,  to 
keep  secret  and  private  all  her  agents'  coun- 
sels, as  they  entrust  me,  and  not  to  divulge,  di- 
rectly or  indirectly,  by  word,  writing  or  circum- 
stances whatsoever,  but  shall  execute  all  which 
shall  be  proposed,  given  in  charge,  or  discovered 
unto  me,  by  you  my  ghostly  father,  or  by  any  of 
this  sacred  convent.  All  which,  I,  A.  B.,  do  swear 
by  the  blessed  Trinity  and  blessed  sacrament, 
which  I  am  now  to  receive,  to  perform  and  on  my 
part  to  keep  inviolably ;  and  do  call  all  the  heav- 
enly and  glorious  host  of  heaven,  to  witness  these 
my  real  intentions  to  keep  this,  my  oath.  In  tes- 
timony hereof,  I  take  this  most  holy  and  blessed 
sacrament  of  the  Eucharist,  and  witness  the  same 
further  with  my  hand  and  seal,  in  the  face  of  this 
holy  convent,  this — day — An.  Dom."  &c. 

America  is  the  promised  land,  the  land  of  the 
Jesuit's  operations  to  obtain  the  ascendency, 
they  have  no  need  of  a  mercenary  Swiss  guard, 
or  the  assistance  of  the  mighty  bayonets  of  the 
lioly  alliance,  but  a  majority  of  votes,  which  can 
20 


226  JESUITISM. 

easily  be  obtained  by  an  importation  of  Roman 
Catholic  voters  from  Ireland,  Bavaria,  and  Aus- 
tria. Rome,  viewed  at  a  distance,  is  a  colossus  ; 
near  at  hand  its  grandeur  diminishes,  its  charm  is 
lost.  But  the  Jesuits  are  everywhere  the  same, 
cunning,  immoral,  and  sneaking  intriguers  until 
they  have  obtained  the  ascendency.  Rome  feels 
her  weakness  at  home,  she  knows  herself  to  be  a 
mere  political  institution,  dressed  in  the  garment 
of  Christianity,  she  takes  good  care  to  uphold 
that  holy  militia,  the  Jesuits,  in  order  to  appear 
what  she  is  not.     It  is  a  strife  for  existence. 

I  am  not  a  politician,  but  knowing  the  active 
spirit  of  Jesuitism,  and  the  indifference  of  the 
generality  of  Protestants,  I  have  no  doubt  what- 
ever, that  in  ten  years  the  Jesuits  will  have  a 
mighty  influence  over  the  ballot-box,  and  in  tiven- 
ty,  they  will  direct  it  according  to  their  own 
pleasure.  Now  they  fawn,  in  ten  years  they  will 
menace,  and  in  twenty,  command. 

Protestants  are  divided;  they  have  no  other 
common  centre  than  the  Bible ;  they  have  no  ex- 
clusive source  from  whence  powrer  flows  in  every 
religious  society,  but  the  Bible.  They  have  no 
Rome,  no  predecessor  of  Rome.  Nor  the  pre- 
tentions of  Rome.      Piotestanis    have    (through 


JESUITISM.  227 

the  grace  of  God,)  no  visible  head  to  whom  a 
special  deference  from  all  parties  is  paid,  and 
from  whom  honors  and  power  are  to  be  expect- 
ed; in  one  word,  they  have  no  Rome. 

Religion  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  political 
institutions  of  America.  The  exaltation,  or  de- 
pression, the  triumph  or  defeat  of  religious  de- 
nominations, is  of  no  importance  in  the  political 
order  of  the  United  States.  It  is  not  so  with 
Rome,  everything  in  popery  tends  to  Rome.  She 
exercises  an  immense  power  over  her  ministers, 
and  through  them  over  her  faithful  adherents; 
consequently  the  chief  of  these  militia  every- 
where to  be  found,  is  the  pope. 

A  Roman  Catholic  bishop  in  France,  Mr.  De 
Prat  says  :  "  The  pope  counts  more  subjects 
than  a  sovereign;  more  even  them  many  sover- 
eigns together.1''  That  is  very  natural,  for  the 
sovereigns  have  subjects  only  in  their  territory, 
the  pope  counts  subjects  upon  the  territory  of  all 
sovereigns.  They  maintain  soldiers  only  in  the 
space  of  their  dominions,  the  pope  has  his  faith- 
ful militia,  the  Jesuits  in  all  their  dominions.  The 
king's  authority  extends  only  to  the  exterior,  and 
regulates    the    exterior  social   life.     The  pope's 


228  JESUITISM. 

penetrates  deeper,  he  commands  the  interior;  his 
empire  is  in  the  conscience. 

What  an  immense  power,  what  an  inconceiva- 
ble influence  !  If  the  whole  world  were  Roman 
Catholics,  the  pope  would  command  the  world, 
and  all  the  millions  of  ministers  would  be  under 
his  authority,  directed  by  his  will,  and  all  would 
be  obliged  to  promote  the  interest  of  Rome.  If 
the  whole  world,  (I  repeat,)  would  be  Roman 
Catholic,  it  would  shake,  subjugate  and  corrupt 
the  world,  as  it  did  for  ages,  and  is  now  actually 
doing  in  Europe. 

Americans  !  Protestants  !  not  to  know  how  to 
foresee,  is  not  to  know  how  to  govern,  or  how  to 
profit  by  the  past,  or  to  judge  the  world.  Have 
you  no  apostolical  Vicars  in  the  United  States, 
who  have  no  other  mission  than  to  promote  the 
private  interest  of  Rome  ?  Have  you  a  right  to 
choose  bishops  for  your  country  as  is  the  case  in 
Europe?  No!  In  France,  Prussia,  Bavaria, 
Saxony,  and  even  in  Austria,  the  kings  and  the 
emperor  choose  their  own  bishops  ;  no  govern- 
ment, or  power  would  accept  a  bishop  in  its  do- 
minion, who  was  not  elected  by  them.  The  pope 
must  sanction  it;  I  say,  the  pope  must  sanction 
their  choice,  and  if  he  refuses  to  give  his  consent 


JESUITISM.  2!(J 

they  compel  His  Holiness  to  do  so,  as  it  was  in 
Prussia  with  the  arch-bishop  of  Cologne,1  and  in 
H angaria  with  the  Pnmateoi  that  country.2  But 
for  the  wants  of  America  the  pope,  graciously 
provides,  he  sends  his  minions,  who  serve  under 
his  holiness'  banner,  and  not  under  the  starred 
flag  of  the  Union. 

In  Austria  no  priest  can  regularly  officiate  with- 
out being  a  native  Austrian,  or  having  obtained  the 
imperial  permission  to  do  so.  In  Prussia,  no 
Roman  Catholic  priest  can  take  charge  of  a  par- 
ish without  being  a  native  Prussian,  or  obtaining  a 
special  royal  permission,  which  is  not  so  easily 
obtained.    The  same  cautious  state  policy  is  adop- 

•The  bishop  of  Cologne  introduced  the  anti-social 
order  of  Gregory  XVI.  in  his  diocese,  viz:  not  to 
celebrate  the  ceremony  of  marriage  in  case  of  mixed 
marriages;  the  king  of  Prussia  ordered  him  to  change 
his  course,  aud  as  the  bishop  of  Cologne  would  not  obey 
His  Majesty's  cammand,  he  was  put  into  prison,  and 
in  spite  of  the  pope  he  was  icnbishupcd  by  the  king  of 
Prussia;  the  same  course  did  the  king  pursue  with 
the  bishop  of  Poseri  in  Silesia. 

-Mr.  Rudnay ,  bishop  of  Weszprim,  in  Hungary,  is 
a  very  liberal  man,  and  advocated  at  the  Diet  the 
cause  of  the  Protestants,  and  obtained  many  privileges 
for  them.  Bishop  Rudnay  was  elected  Primate  of 
Hungary  by  His  Catholic  and  Apostolic  Majesty  the 
Emperor  of  Austria;  but  the  pope  would  not  sanction 
tin'  election  of  a  friend  of  heretics.  But  His  Catholic 
Majesty  said  it  is  his  will  and  the  pope  was  obliged  to 
say  :  Amen. 


230  JESUITISM. 

ted  in  France,  and  in  ever)''  other  kingdom  and 
principality  of  Europe,  to  prevent  the  fatal  influ- 
ence of  Jesuitism,  which  convulsed  the  peace  of 
Europe  ;  which  was  the  cause  of  so  many  wars, 
and  blood-shed,  of  which  the  history  of  Europe 
is  so  unhappily  full.  America  is  the  only  land 
where  Rome  can  work  without  impediment. 
America  is  the  stage  of  papal  action,  where  her 
hired  servants,  a  swarm  of  Irish  priests,  German 
monks,  Italian  friars,  and  Roman  Jesuits  over- 
flow the  country,  in  order  to  promote  pope  Gre- 
gory's interest,  and  oppress  religious  and  politi- 
cal liberty. 

Protestants  !  the  political  regime  of  the  United 
States  pleases  Rome;  it  gives  her  means  of  hoping 
soon  to  become  the  mistress  of  North,  as  she  is 
of  South  America.  The  Roman  clergy  of  }he 
United  States,  like  that  of  Ireland,  is  very  devo- 
ted to  the  pope;  very  rigorous  and  submissive  to 
Rome's  orders,  soon  she  will  (may  the  Lord  pre- 
vent it,)  occasion  embarrassment  to  the  United 
States,  as  that  of  Ireland  does  to  the  British  Gov- 
ernment. 

The  recent  revival  of  this  subtle  and  dangerous 
order,  together  with  its  widely  diffused  and  in- 
creasing influence  in  the  United  States,  makes  it 


JESUITISM.  231 

desirable  to  give  as  full  a  view  of  its  character 
and  history  as  the  limited  space  of  this  article 
will  allow. 

The  Jesuits,  or  society  of  Jesus  is  one  of  the 
most  celebrated  monastic  orders  in  the  church  of 
Rome;  it  was  founded  in  the  year  1540,  by  Igna- 
zius  Loyola,  sanctioned,  and  afterwards  confirm- 
ed by  Paul  III.,  granting  unto  them  the  most  am- 
ple privileges,  and  appointing  Loyola  the  first 
General  of  the  order. 

It  was  indeed,  a  fundamental  maxim  with  the 
Jesuits,  from  their  first  institution,  not  to  publish 
the  rules  of  their  order ;  these  they  kept  conceal- 
ed as  an  impenetrable  mystery.  Their  constitu- 
tion and  laws  were  concealed  with  such  solicitude 
that  this  alone  was  a  good  reason  for  having  ex- 
cluded them.  Through  the  opposition,  however, 
which  they  encountered  in  Portugal  and  in 
France,  the  Jesuits  were  obliged  to  produce  the 
(Monila  Sacra)  mysterious  volumes  of  their  in- 
stitute. 

The  primary  object  of  the  society  was  to  estab- 
lish a  spiritual  dominion  over  the  minds  of  men, 
of  which  the  pope  should  appear  as  the  ostensi- 
ble head,  while  the  real  power  should  reside  with 
themselves.     To  accomplish  this  object,  the  plan 


232  JESUITISM. 

of  the  constitution  was  differently  shaped  from 
all  other  monastic  orders.    The  immediate  design 
of  every  other  religious  society  was  to  separate 
its  members  from  the  world;  that  of  the  Jesuits, 
to  render  them  masters  of  the  world.     The  in- 
mates of  other  monastic  convents  devoted  them- 
selves to  work  out  their  own  soul's  salvation  by 
extraordinary   acts  of  devotion   and   self-denial ; 
the  followers  of  Loyola  plunged  themselves  into 
the  bustle  of  secular  affairs  to  maintain  the  inter- 
ests of  Rome.     The  monk  was  a  retired  devotee 
of  heaven;  the  Jesuit  a  chosen  soldier  of  the 
pope.    That  the  members  of  the  new  order  might 
have  full  leisure  for  this  active  service,  they  were 
exempted  from  the  usual  functions  of  other  monks. 
They  were  not  required  to  spend  their  time  in  the 
long:  ceremonial  offices  and  numberless  mumme- 
ries  of  the  Romish  worship.     They  attended  no 
processions  and  practiced  no  austerities.     They 
neither  chanted  nor  prayed.     Their  antagonists 
said :  "  that  they  cannot  sing,  for  birds  of  prey 
never  do."    They  were  sent  forth  to  watch  every 
transaction  of  the  world  which  might  appear  to 
effect  the  interests  of  papal  Rome,  and  were  espe- 
cially enjoined  to  study  the  dispositions  and  culti- 
vate the  friendship  of  persons  in  the  higher  ranks, 


JESUITISM.  233 

Jesuits  are  open  and  liberal  in  the  external  aspect 
of  their  institution,  yet  nothing-  can  be  more  strict 
and  secret  than  its  internal  organization.  Loyola 
influenced  perhaps  by  the  notions  of  implicit 
obedience  which  he  had  derived  from  his  military 
profession,  resolved  that  the  government  of  the 
Jesuits  should  be  absolutely  monarchical  under 
a  general  at  Rome  who  governs  as  he  pleases. 
To  accomplish  the  vast  designs  of  this  society,  it 
was  indispensably  necessary  that  the  whole  body 
should  have  one  mind,  that  all  its  members  should 
be  indissolubly  united  to  the  head,  and  this  by  the 
obligation  of  unreserved  obedience.  Ignazius  goes 
so  far  in  a  letter  of  his,  directed  to  his  associates 
in  1553,  on  the  subject  of  obedience,  that  he  com- 
mands them  to  receive  any  and  every  order  given 
by  a  superior  without  distinction,  and  to  receive 
it  as  a  divine  precept,  to  be  observed  without  dis- 
cussion. The  general  has  the  direction  of  all 
missions  and  the  control  of  the  property  of  the 
society ;  as  it  is  necessary  that  he  should  know 
the  character  of  those  whom  he  sends  out ;  the 
confession  is  no  secrecy,  the  very  desires  of  the 
heart  are  made  known  and  recorded,  so  that  they 
can  be  at  any  time  reported  to  the  general ;  the 
talents  of  each  are  also  noticed  with  care,  that  a 


234  JESUITISM. 

man  unfit  for  the  station  may  not  be  sent.  A  con- 
stant communication  is  kept  up  between  the  dif- 
ferent branches  of  the  order,  of  the  most  minute 
character ;  to  effect  which,  and  for  the  better  re- 
gulating the  concerns,  -a  provincial  is  placed  over 
a  certain  district  as  overseer,  who  inspects  and  re- 
ports all  things  to  the  general  at  Rome.  For  fear 
that  the  provincial  should  prove  unfaithful,  or  fail 
to  communicate,  the  superiors  of  the  houses,  col- 
leges, convents,  and  the  masters  of  novices  are 
compelled  to  write  every  three  months  to  the 
general ;  the  provincials  monthly  ;  in  return  he 
must  write  to  the  provincials  every  two  months, 
and  to  the  superiors  every  six.  The  provincial 
has  the  power  over  the  superiors,  directs,  com- 
mands, controls  without  being  responsible  to  any 
man,  except  to  the  general.  In  order  to  render 
these  correspondences  secret  and  certain,  the  gen- 
eral can  withdraw  any  Jesuit  from  under  the  pow- 
er of  a  rector  or  provincial  and  bring  him  near 
himself.  Every  Jesuit  can  correspond  with  the 
general  on  things  pertaining  to  the  interest  of  the 
society.  In  certain  matters  which  require  great 
secrecy,  the  correspondence  is  in  ciphers,  of 
which  the  general  has  the  key. 


JESUITISM.  Z30 

Extensive  as  their  missions  and  numerous  as 
their  colleges  are,  the  boast  of  a  general  in  the 
seventeenth  century  might  be  considered  true : 
"  that  he  from  his  closet  governed  not  only  Paris, 
but  China,  and  not  only  China,  but  the  world, 
without  any  one  knowing  how  it  was  done." 
The  general  is  served  by  a  cabinet  of  faithful 
minions  who  communicate  to  him  information  on 
every  subject  connected  with  the  advantage  or  in- 
jury of  their  order,  the  civil  and  religious  con- 
cerns of  every  country,  the  friends  and  foes  in 
every  court. 

The  maxims  of  policy  adopted  by  this  cele- 
brated society  were,  like  its  constitution,  remark- 
able for  their  union  of  laxity  and  rigor.  Nothing 
could  divert  them  from  their  original  object,  and 
no  means  were  ever  scrupled  which  promised  to 
aid  its  accomplishment.  They  were  in  no  degree 
shackled  by  prejudice,  superstition  or  real  religion. 
Expediency  in  its  most  simple  and  licentious 
form  was  the  basis  of  their  morals,  and  their  prin- 
ciples and  practices  were  uniformly  accommodated 
to  the  circumstances  in  which  they  were  placed, 
and  even  their  bigotry,  obdurate  as  it  was,  never 
appears  to  have  interfered  with  their  interests. 
The  paramount  and  characteristic  principle  of  the 


236  JESUITISM. 

order,  from  which  none  of  its  members  ever 
swerved  was  simply  this,  that  their  interests  were 
to  be  promoted  by  all  possible  means,  at  all  pos- 
sible expense.  In  order  to  acquire  more  easily 
an  ascendency  over  persons  of  rank  and  power, 
they  propagated  a  system  of  the  most  relaxed 
morality,  which  accommodated  itself  to  the  pas- 
sions of  men,  justified  their  vices,  tolerated  their 
imperfections,  and  authorized  almost  every  action 
which  the  most  audacious  or  crafty  politician 
would  wish  to  perpetrate.  To  persons  of  stricter 
principles,  they  studied  to  recommend  themselves 
by  the  purity  of  their  lives  and  sometimes  by  the 
austerity  of  their  doctrines.  While  sufficiently 
compliant  in  the  treatment  of  immoral  practices, 
they  were  generally  rigidly  severe  in  exacting  a 
strict  orthodoxy  in  opinions.  "  They  are  a  sort 
of  people  (says  the  Abbe  Boileau)  ivho  lengthen 
the  creed  and  shorten  the  decalogue."  They 
adopted  the  same  spirit  of  accommodation  in  their 
missionary  undertakings;  and  their  Christianity 
assumed  the  color  of  every  religion  where  it  hap- 
pened to  be  introduced,  except  that  of  real  Chris- 
tianity. They  freely  permitted  their  converts  to 
retain  a  full  proportion  of  the  old  superstitions, 
and  suppressed  without  hesitation  any  point  in 


JESUITISM.  237 

the  new  faith  which  was  likely  to  bear  hard  ou 
their  prejudices  or  propensities.  They  proceeded 
to  still  greater  lengths  ;  and  besides  suppressing 
the  truths  of  revelation,  devised  the  most  absurd 
falsehoods,  to  be  used  for  attracting  disciples,  of 
even  to  be  taught  as  part  of  Christianity.  One  of 
them  in  India  produced  a  pedigree  to  prove  his 
own  descent  from  Brama;  and  another  in  America 
assured  a  native  chief  that  Christ  had  been  a  vali- 
ant and  victorious  warrior,  who  in  the  space  of 
three  years,  had  scalped  an  incredible  number  of 
men,  women  and  children.  It  was,  in  fact,  their 
own  authority,  not  the  authority  of  true  religion 
which  they  wished  to  establish,  and  Christianity 
was  generally  as  little  known  when  they  quitted 
the  foreign  scenes  of  their  labors  as  when  they 
entered  them. 

To  carry  such  principles  into  practice,  morali- 
ty and  religion  they  must  have  forgotten.  No 
man  could  have  acted  upon  them  who  took  the 
Bible  for  his  standard  of  morals  ;  a  new  code  was 
necessary,  and  such  we  find  among  them ;  one 
which  any  man  possessing  the  least  principle  of 
morality  would  blush  at,  and  be  ashamed  to  ac- 
knowledge. The  world,  the  whole  world  has  fixed 
such  an  indelible  stigma  upon  them  for  their  prinfc 


.^38  JESUITISM. 

ciplcs,  thai  they  will  not  own  them,  arid  they 
never  attempted  to  reply  to  all  the  accusations  of 
which  the  order  has  been  the  subject;  they  never 
could  exculpate  themselves,  for  their  own  writers 
have  exhibited  their  doctrines  and  morals,  and 
from  them  1  will  give  some  specimens  in  order  to 
show  what  they  have  been,  what  they  are,  and 
would  be  if  they  could.  I  will  give  not  only  the 
names  of  the  authors,  but  the  chapters,  and  eveii 
the  pages  containing  these  corrupt  principles, 
taught  by  the  Jesuits  as  doctrinal  points. 

Pascal,  a  Jansenist,  a  man  of  piety,  but  who 
never  separated  from  the  church,  and  died  in  the 
pale  of  the  church  of  Rome,  says :  Let.  5,  p.  76, 
77,  "an  opinion  is  probable,  if  Only  one  author, 
or  one  single  divine,  or  one  reason  which  we 
think  good,  maintains  it."  "Of  two  probable 
opinions  we  may  choose  the  one  we  like  best, 
though  it  may  be  the  least  probable."  This  is 
acting  according  to  the  declaration  of  a  Jesuit, 
mentioned  by  Pascal,  "  rinding  their  morals  too 
strict  for  the  people,  they  had  brought  them  down 
to  suit  every  one."  In  the  Let.  7,  p.  101  and 
102,  "you  may  kill  false  witnesses,  or  a  judge, 
who  is  going  to  decide  against  you."  In  page 
107,  "  you  may  kill  one  who  is  going  to  calurti- 


JESUITISM.  Jo  * 

niate  you,  so  that  you  may  hinder  the  caiman  \ 
from  circulating."  In  Let.  8,  p.  113,  "Judged 
(though  positively  prohibited  by  the  law  of  God, 
and  the  laws  of  the  land)-  may  receive  bribes.'' 
Sanchez  the  standard  of  moral  theology  of  the 
order  of  Jesus,  one  of  their  greatest  theologians* 
says,  Book  I.  chap.  10,  no.  12,  13,  p.  46.  "  An 
oath  obliges  not  beyond  the  intention  of  him,  who 
takes  it,  because  he  who  hath  no  intention  to 
sivear,  cannot  be  obliged  in  conscience  to  any* 
thing."  See  Pascal,  p.  135,  on  mental  reserva- 
tion. Saurez  another  prominent  writer  of  the 
Jesuits,  and  chief  moral  theologian,  says,  in  the 
practice  of  the  love  of  God:  "It  is  enough  to 
love  him  a  little  before  we  die,"  Ibid.  Let.  10,  p. 
154.  Vasquez,  also  a  standard  writer  of  the  or- 
der of  Loyola  adds!  "it  is  enough  to  love  him 
at  the  point  of  death ;  we  are  not  so  much  com- 
manded to  love  God,  as  not  to  hate  him."  Oth- 
ers teach,  "That  to  love  God  at  baptism  is 
enough."  The  last  I  shall  allude  to  is  on  Cal- 
i'mnv,  p.  238.  "To  calumniate  any  man  who  is 
obnoxious  to  the  order,  is  no  sin."  According  to 
their  doctrines,  they  were  permitted  to  calumni- 
ate and  slander  every  one  who  differs  from  them. 
These  arc  the  doctrines  of  the  followers  of  Igna- 


S40  JESUITISM. 

ferns  Loyola,  who  style  themselves  the  order  of 
Jesus  J     Paganism  would  blush* 

Is  it  a  wonder,  that  men  without  any  moral 
principle,  with  vigorous  efforts,  trained  and  dis* 
ciplined  men,  the  end  always  sanctifying  the 
means,  no  barrier  hindering,  no  law  which  they 
would  not  evade,  no  artifice  to  which  they  would 
not  resort,  nothing  too  low  or  base,  nothing  so 
dangerous  but  they  were  bound  by  oath  to  attempt 
if  ordered  by  their  General, — is  it  any  wonder 
that  such  men  would  not  stop  at  anything  ?  What 
have  they  not  accomplished  ?  How  numerous 
have  their  colleges  become  ?  How  great  their 
wealth,  and  their  power  !  their  licentiousness  and 
corruption !  Intrigue,  usurpation  and  tyranny 
have  followed  wherever  they  have  bent  their 
course.  George  Bronswell,  the  Catholic  arch- 
bishop of  Dublin,  in  1558  from  a  knowledge  of 
their  principles,  prophesied  of  them  as  follows  : 
"  There  is  a  fraternity  which  has  lately  risen, 
called  the  Jesuits,  who  will  seduce  many;  who, 
acting  for  the  most  part  like  scribes  and  pharisees, 
will  strive  to  overturn  the  truth,  they  will  go  neat 
to  accomplish  their  object,  for  they  transform 
themselves  into  various  shapes  ;  among  Pagans, 
they  will  be  Pagans  ;  among  atheists,  atheists  > 


JESUITISM.  241 

among  Jews,  Jews;  among  Reformers,  Reform- 
ers, for  the  sole  purpose  of  discovering  your  in- 
tentions, your  hearts  and  your  desires.  These 
persons  are  spread  over  the  whole  earth.  They 
will  be  admitted  into  the  councils  of  princes, 
who  will,  however,  be  no  wiser  for  their  intro- 
duction ;  they  will  infatuate  them  so  far  as  to  in- 
duce them  to  reveal  the  greatest  secrets  of  their 
hearts :  they  will  in  no  way  be  aware  of  them. 
This  will  be  the  consequence  of  their  advisers 
neglecting  to  observe  the  laws  of  God  and  his 
gospel,  and  conniving  at  the  sins  of  princes.  Not- 
withstanding, God  will  in  the  end,  in  order  to 
avenge  his  law,  cut  off  this  society,  even  by 
those  who  have  most  supported  and  employed  it; 
so  that  at  last,  they  will  become  odious  to  all  na- 
tions." ' 

The  following  historical  facts  have  confirmed 
the  above.  In  the  year  1540,  when  they  "peti- 
tioned Paul  HI.  to  establish  or  sanction  their  or- 
der, they  were  only  ten  in  number.  In  1543 
they  were  not  more  than  twenty-four.  In  1545 
-they  had  only  ten  houses  ;  but  in  1549,  they  had 
two  provinces ;  one  in  Spain,  the  other  in  Portugal, 
and  also  twenty-two  houses.    At  the  death  of  Igna- 

1  Varan's  Annals  of  Ireland. 
21 


242  JESUITISM. 

zius  Loyola  in  1556,  they  had  twelve  large  pro- 
vinces. In  1608,  there  were  reckoned  twenty  - 
nine  provinces,  and  two  vice  provinces,  twenty- 
one  houses  of  professions,  two  hundred  and  nine- 
ty-three colleges,  thirty-three  houses  of  proba- 
tion, ninety-three  other  residences,  and  ten  thous- 
and five  hundred  and  eighty-one  Jesuits.  In  the 
catalogue,  printed  at  Rome  in  1629,  are  found 
thirty-five  provinces,  two  vice  provinces,  thirty- 
three  houses  of  profession,  five  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-eight colleges,  forty-eight  houses  of  proba- 
tion, eighty-eight  seminaries,  one  hundred  and 
sixty  residences,  one  hundred  and  six  mission 
stations,  and  in  all  seventeen  thousand  six  hun- 
dred and  fifty  five  Jesuits,  of  whom  seven  thous- 
sand  eight  hundred  and  seventy  were  priests.  At 
last,  in  1710,  they  had  twenty-four  houses  of  pro- 
fession, fifty-nine  houses  of  probation,  three  hun- 
dred and  forty  residences,  six  hundred  and  twelve 
colleges,  of  which  about  eighty  were  in  France ; 
two  hundred  mission  stations,  one  hundred  and 
fifty-seven  seminaries  and  boarding  houses,  and 
nineteen  thousand  nine  hundred  and  ninety-eight 
Jesuits.  The  houses  of  profession  were  for  Jes 
uits  of  the  first  order  who  could  hold  no  proper- 
ty, but  were  dependent  on  charity.     The  houses 


JESUITISM.  243 

m  residence  or  probation  were  for  those  of  the 
second  order,  who  could  hold  any  amount.  Many 
of  these  houses  are  said  to  have  equaled  in  splen- 
dor the  palaces  of  the  kings  and  princes  of  France, 
A  late  writer  says:  "  At  the  abolition  of  this  or- 
der, their  property  was  found  to  exceed  ten  times 
the  papal  treasury  at  its  most  flourishing  and  afflu- 
ent period,  and  yet  no  money  scarcely  was  found 
in  their  establishment,  owing  no  doubt  to  their 
precaution  to  secret  it  for  future  purposes." 

American  Protestants,  you  are  the  most  favor- 
ed nation  upon  this  hemisphere,  having  the 
privilege  to  breathe  the  free  air  of  republicanism 
and  enjoy  the  blessings  of  a  sound  political  con- 
stitution ;  let  the  history  of  the  past  be  the  guide 
for  the  future,  let  the  experience  of  the  past  not 
be  lost,  but  a  lesson  for  the  future.  Read  the 
plots,  intrigues,  and  assassinations^  which  occu- 
py no  small  part  of  the  history  of  Jesuits.  They 
were  implicated  in  the  assassination  of  Henry  111. 
of  France ;  they  planned  the  Spanish  armada ; 
often  attempted  the  life  of  Elizabeth  of  England ; 
devised  the  gunpowder  plot;  instigated  the  mur- 
der of  Henry  IV  of  France ;  effected  the  revo- 
cation of  the  edict  of  Nantz,  and  the  persecution 
of  Protestants  following  on  it,  [one  of  the  most 


244  JESUITISM; 

bloody  and  disgraceful  pictures  in  the  history  of 
the  world,]  ruined  James  II,  and  in  short,  were 
deeply  engaged  in  all  the  atrocities  and  miseries* 
which  desolated  Europe  during  nearly  two  hun- 
dred years.  So  atrocious,  extensive,  and  contin- 
ual were  their  crimes,  that  they  were  expelled, 
either  partially  or  wholly  from  all  the  different 
countries  of  Europe.  They  were  expelled  from 
England  by  proclamation  of  James  I  in  1604, 
The  king  of  Portugal  was  assassinated,  and  Mal- 
agrida  and  a  few  more  of  those  holy  fathers  were 
charged  with  advising  and  absolving  the  assassins, 
and  having  been  found  guilty,  were  condemned  to 
the  stake.  The  rest  were  banished  with  infamy, 
and  even  treated  with  the  most  iniquitous  cruelty. 
On  the  sixth  of  August,  1752,  their  institute  was 
condemned  by  the  parliament  of  France,  as  con- 
trary to  the  laws  of  the  State,  to  the  obedience 
due  to  the  sovereign,  and  to  the  welfare  of  the 
kingdom.  The  order  was  dissolved,  and  their 
effects  alienated.  But  in  certain  quarters,  where 
the  provincial  parliaments  had  not  decided  against 
them,  Jesuits  still  existed,  and  a  royal  edict  was 
afterwards  promulgated,  which  formally  abolished 
the  society  in  France. 


JESUITISM.  245 

In  Spain,  where  they  conceived  their  establish- 
ment to  be  perfectly  secure,  they  experienced  an 
overthrow  equally  complete,  and  much  more  un- 
expected. At  midnight,  March  31,  in  the  year 
1767,  large  bodies  of  military  surrounded  the  six 
colleges  of  the  Jesuits  in  Madrid,  forced  the  gates, 
secured  the  bells,  collected  the  fathers  in  the  re- 
fectory, and  read  to  them  the  king's  order  for 
their  instant  transportation.  They  were  immedi- 
ately put  into  carriages,  previously  placed  at  pro- 
per stations,  and  were  on  their  way  to  Carthage- 
na  before  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  had  any  in- 
telligence of  the  transaction.  Three  days  after, 
the  same  measures  were  adopted  with  regard  to 
every  other  college  of  the  order  in  the  kingdom  ; 
and  ships  having  been  provided  at  the  different 
sea-ports,  they  were  all  embarked  for  the  ecclesi- 
astical states  of  Italy.  All  their  property  was 
confiscated,  and  a  small  pension  assigned  to  each 
individual,  as  long  as  he  should  reside  in  a  place 
appointed,  and  satisfy  the  Spanish  court  as  to  his 
peaceable  demeanor.  All  correspondence  with 
the  Jesuits  was  prohibited,  and  the  strictest  silence 
on  the  subject  of  their  expulsion  was  enjoined 
under  penalties  of  high  treason.  A  similar  seiz- 
ure and  deportation  took  place  in  the  Indies,  and 


246  JESUITISM. 

an  immense  property  was  acquired  by  the  govern- 
ment. The  example  of  the  king  of  Spain,  was 
immediately  followed  by  Ferdinand  VI.  of  Na- 
ples, and  soon  after  by  the  prince  of  Parma  and 
Piacenza.  They  were  expelled  from  Venice  in 
1606;  from  Antwerp  in  1518;  from  Hungary 
and  Germany  their  banishment  was  demanded 
above  all  other  things.  At  Vienna  they  were  ex- 
pelled without  judicial  forms,  and  in  Bordeaux 
for  conspiracy.  The  same  from  Bohemia,  in  the 
year  1618.  Mr.  Be  Prat,  a  Roman  arch-bishop 
of  Malines,  says  :  "Thirty-nine  times  they  have 
been  banished  and  expelled,  prior  to  their  aboli- 
tion in  the  year  1773,  by  Ganganelli,  [Clem- 
ent XIV.] 

Their  abolition  was  not  a  work  of  haste.  Ac- 
cording  to  the  life  of  this  pope,  published  in  the 
year  1776,  he  spent  four  years  deliberately  exam- 
ining the  history  of  this  order.  He  searched  the 
archives  of  the  Propaganda,  for  the  documents 
relating  to  their  missions,  the  accusations  against 
and  apologies  for  them  ;  desirous  of  being  correct 
in  the  matter  of  his  condemnation,  he  communi- 
cated his  brief,  privately  to  several  cardinals  and 
theologians  as  well  as  to  some  sovereigns,  «fcc, 
before  he  promulgated  it.     He  then  decided  on 


JESUITISM.  247 

the  abolition,  but  not  without  considering  the  con- 
sequence's to  himself.     He  believed  it  would  be 
death  to  iiim  ;  when  he  signed  the  instrument,  he 
is  reported  to  have  said:  "  The  suppression  is 
accomplished.   I  do  not  repent  of  it,  having  only 
resolved  on  it,  after  examining  and  weighing 
every  thing,  and  because  I  thought  it  necessary 
fur  the  church.     If  it  were  not  done,  I  would  do 
it   now ;    but   this    suppression   will    be    my 
death."     The  initial  letters  of  a  Pasquinade  ap- 
peared on  St.  Peter's  church,  which  he  interpret- 
ed: "  The  Holy  See  will  be  vacant  in  Septem- 
ber," which  was   verified   in  his  death   on  the 
twenty-second  of  that  month,  1774,  attended  with 
every  symptom  of  poison.     Thus  ended  for  the 
time  being  the  order  of  Jesuits,  and  thus  too  the 
man  that  dared  to  stop  them  in  their  course  of  in- 
iquity.    It  is  not  saying  too  much,  if  we  consult 
history  and  experience,  that  another  so  infamous 
a  class  of  men  never  lived. 

To  show  the  reader  that  this  is  not  my  private 
opinion,  or  the  opinion  of  their  enemies,  or  of  the 
Protestant  heretics  (as  they  call  us)  but  that  of 
the  secret  college  in  Conelave,  who  have  ever  in- 
tertained  the  same  opinion  of  that  pernicious  or- 
der;  it  is  well  known  to  the  reader,  as  well  as  to 


248  JESUITISM. 

the  world  at  large,  that  the  Jesuits  had  the  most 
learned  cardinals  in  the  church  of  Rome,  more 
than  any  other  monastic  order,  and  with  all  their 
intrigues  they  could  never  get  a  pope  in  their  or- 
der as  others  had,  and  never  will  obtain  one.  It 
is  a  common  saying  in  Rome  ; 

"  Non  date  le  chiavi  a  Jesu, 
Perche  non  vi  le  rendera  piu." 
in  plain  English  it  is  :  "  Give  not  the  keys  to  a 
Jesuit  for  he  will  never  return  them  again." 

Before  I  conclude  I  will  give  a  short  description 
of  the  essential  evils  of  the  society  of  Ignazius 
Loyola.  Their  essential  principles  are,  that  their 
order  is  to  be  maintained  at  the  expense  of  society 
at  large,  and  that  the  end  sanctifies  the  means. 
These  principles  are  utterly  incompatible  with 
the  welfare  of  any  community  of  men.  Their 
system  of  lax  and  pliant  morality  justifying  every 
vice  and  authorizing  every  atrocity,  has  left  deep 
and  lasting  ravages  on  the  face  of  the  moral  world. 
Their  zeal  to  extend  the  jurisdiction  of  the  court 
of  Rome  over  every  civil  government,  gave  cur- 
rency to  tenets  respecting  the  duty  of  opposing 
princes  who  were  hostile  to  the  papal  creed, 
which  shook  the  basis  of  all  political  allegiance 
and  loosened  the  obligations  of  every  human  law 


JESUITISM.  249 

Their  indefatigable  industry  and  countless  artifices 
in  resisting  the  progress  of  the  Protestant  religion, 
perpetuated  the  most  pernicious  errors  of  popery, 
and  postponed  the  triumph  of  tolerant  and  chris- 
tian principles.  Whence,  then,  it  may  well  be 
asked,  whence  the  recent  restoration  ?  What 
long-latent  proof  has  been  discovered  of  the  ex- 
cellence or  even  the  expedience  of  such  an  insti- 
tution ?  The  sentence  of  their  abolition,  as  we 
saw,  was  passed  by  the  senates  and  monarchs, 
statesmen  and  divines  of  the  church  of  Rome,  by 
the  pope  and  of  almost  every  civilized  country  in 
the  world.  Almost  every  land  has  been  stained 
and  torn  by  their  crimes  ;  and  almost  every  land 
bears  on  its  public  records  the  most  solemn  protest 
against  their  existence.  The  evils  of  Jesuitism 
arise  not  from  the  violation  of  the  principles  of 
the  order ;  on  the  contrary,  they  are  natural  and 
necessary  fruits  of  the  system;  they  are  confined 
to  no  age,  place  or  person ;  they  follow,  like  the 
tail  of  the  comet,  the  same  disastrous  course  with 
the  luminary  itself;  and  in  consequence,  not  this 
or  that  nation,  but  humanity,  is  startled  at  the  re- 
appearance of  this  common  enemy  of  man.1 

'I  would  recommend  to  the  reader,  who  wishes  to 
have  all  the  minute  particulars  of  the  Jesuits  and  Je- 

21 


MIRACLES  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  ROME. 

I  cannot  conclude  ray  volume  without  saying 
something  for  the  edification  of  the  Roman  Cath- 
olics ;  I  say  for  their  edification,  for  nothing  is 
more  edifying  to  them  than  the  miracles  of  their 
saints,  as  a  display  of  the  holiness  of  the  church 
of  Rome.  They  I  trust  will  not  think  that  I 
speak  in  irony  or  ridicule  ;  by  no  means  ;  I  will 
merely  state  them  as  they  are.  Therefore,  I  will 
say  nothing  of  the  feather  of  the  angel  Gabriel ; 
neither  of  the  bottle  of  the  Virgin  Mary's  milk; 
nor  of  the  tears  of  our  Saviour,  which  are  pre- 
served in  the  chapel  of  the  Scala  Santa  in  Rome. 
I  will  say  nothing  of  the  holy  house  of  Loretto, 
where  the  Virgin  Mary  was  born  and  brought  up, 
and  in  spite  of  its  dimensions  of  thirty-two  feet 
long,  thirteen  broad  and  eighteen  high,  it  was  in 
a  miraculous  manner  transported  in  the  air  with 

suitism,  Edinb.  British  Encyclopaedia;  and  Encyclo- 
paedia Americana ;  Mosheim  Eccl.  History  ;  Harleian 
Misc.,  vol.  v.  page  566;  Broughton's  Diet.  Works  of 
Robert  Hall ;  New  York  Evangelist  for  1831 ;  British 
Review,  &c.  Bat  above  all  1  would  intreat  every 
Roman  Catholic  to  read  Pascal's  Provincial  Letters, 
American  edition,  and  he  will  learn  the  doctrines  of 
his  chnreh,  and  the  Protestants  ought  to  read  it  in  or- 
der to  know  what  they  are. 


MIRACLES.  251 

its  chimney  and  belfry  ;  and  according  to  its  his- 
tory, it  was  several  times  borne  aloft  through  the 
air  and  deposited  in  one  place  after  another,  until 
it  was  finally  located  on  the  spot  where  it  now 
stands,  and  remained  for  the  last  six  hundred 
years  without  a  foundation  ;  for  the  account  of  it 
is  sold  in  Philadelphia,  and  can  be  read  by  every 
pious  papist  to  the  edification  of  his  immortal 
soul. 

Neither  will  I  speak  of  St.  Viar,  whom  the 
Spaniards  venerate  and  invoke,  and  whom  the 
pope  has  canonized  for  the  usual  fee  of  a  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  and  at  the  end  it  turned  out  that 
St.  Viar  never  existed.  That  the  grave-stone 
which  was  found  with  the  inscription  S.  Viar, 
does  not  say  St.  Viar,  but  Prefectus  Viaruiu, 
overseer  of  the  high  ways. 

N  or  do  I  intend  to  make  any  remark  on  the 
holy  relic  of  the  handkerchief  of  Sta.  Veronica, 
in  St.  Peter's  in  Rome,  upon  which  the  original 
impression  of  our  Saviour's  face  is  seen,  or  of  the 
numerous  Ave  Marias  and  other  prayers  which  I 
once  said  to  that  handkerchief,  I  am  only  sorry  to 
say,  that  I  have  at  last  found  out  that  all  my  Ave 
Marias  were  for  nothing,  for  Sta.  Veronica  never 
existed,  that  her  name  was  formed  by  blundering 


252  MIRACLES. 

and  confounding  the  two  words  vera  icon  (true 
image,)  which  the  first  contrivers  and  impostors 
visually  wrote  on  the  paintings  of  the  Saviour's 
image. 

Neither  will  I  speak  of  St.  Amphibolis,  who, 
according  to  the  catalogue  of  saints  in  the  breviary 
was  bishop  of  the  Isle  of  Man,  and  fellow  martyr 
and  disciple  of  St.  Alban.  I  am  happy  to  state 
for  the  consolation  of  the  Roman  Catholics,  that 
St.  Amphibolis  did  not  suffer  martyrdom  for  he 
never  existed  ;  he  is  a  saint  risen  by  mistake. 
This  Amphibolis,  though  reverenced  as  a  saint  is 
nothing  more  than  a  cloak,  which  Alban  happened 
to  have  at  the  time  of  his  execution ;  Amphibclis 
being;  the  Greek  word  for  a  rough  cloak,  which 
ecclesiastical  persons  usually  wore  in  that  age, 
just  as  the  Romans  called  the  cloak  of  senators 
and  other  distinguished  persons,  toga.  (See 
arch-bishop  Usher.) 

To  show  the  Roman  Catholic  brethren  that  I 
do  not  intend  to  ridicule,  I  will  say  nothing  of 
Sta.  Ursula  and  the  eleven  thousand  virgins,  who, 
on  the  twenty-first  of  October,  are  adored  in  the 
following  manner  :  "  Permit  us,  we  pray  thee,  O 
Lord  our  God,  to  venerate  with  unceasing  devo- 


MIRACLES.  253 

tion  the  triumphs  of  the  holy  virgins  and  martyrs 
Ursula  and  her  companions,  &c."  ' 

Nor  will  I  relate  all  the  adventures  of  the  seven 
holy  sleepers,  and  accidents  happening  unto  them 
during  the  time  of  their  long  rest,  who  slept  in  a 
cave  for  a  period  of  three  hundred  and  sixty-two 
years,  from  the  time  of  Decius  to  the  reign  of 
Theodosius,  nor  of  the  worship  which  is  offered 
unto  them  the  twenty-seventh  of  July. 

I  will  at  once  select  some  miracles  not  of  Italian 
or  Portuguese  saints,  which  the  reader  might  sus- 
pect, but  such  which  Bede  and  Southey  have  de- 
clared as  true  and  authentic. 

"King  Oswald  set  up  a  cross  at  Heofenpeld, 
(or  Heavenfield,)  and  after  the  battle  fought  there, 
pieces  of  this  cross  were  carried  away ;  they  were 
supposed  to  be  perfectly  efficacious  in  curing  men 
and  cattle,  and  of  course  imparting  miraculous 
virtue  to  the  water  wherein  they  were  dipt.  The 
moss  which  grew  upon  it  possessed  equal  efficacy ; 
and  a  brother  in  the  monastery  at  Hagulstad,  who 
had  lost  the  use  of  his  arm  in  consequence  of  a 
fracture,  found  it  restored  by  sleeping  with  some 
of  this  moss  in  his   bosom.     Earth   taken  from 

'Breviarium  Monasticum  of  pope  Paul  V.,  pao-e 
G7G,  Paris  Ui71.  * 


254  MIRACLES. 

the  spot  where  Oswald  was  slain,  to  be  adminis- 
tered in  water,  was  in  such  request,  that  a  pit  had 
been  excavated  there  five  or  six  feet  deep,  by  per- 
sons who  came  from  all  parts  to  obtain  it.  A 
horse  recovered  from  a  (it  by  falling  upon  the  sa- 
cred spot,  and  the  owner  of  the  horse  consequent- 
ly carried  a  paralitic  girl  thither,  who  fell  asleep 
when  she  was  laid  upon  the  miraculous  ground, 
and  awoke  in  perfect  health.  A  bag  containing 
some  of  this  earth  was  hung  upon  one  of  the 
posts  in  the  wall  of  a  house  which  took  fire,  the 
house  was  burned  to  the  ground  and  that  post 
alone  remained  unconsumed.  When  Oswald's 
bones  were  removed  they  were  washed  before 
they  were  deposited  in  their  shrine;  and  the  earth 
upon  which  the  water  was  poured  out,  proved  of 
sovereign  efficacy  in  expelling  evil  spirits  from 
possessed  persons.  A  boy,  who  had  an  intermit- 
tent fever,  was  assured,  that  if  he  went  to  the 
shrine  and  remained  there  till  the  hour  for  the  re- 
gular paroxism  was  past,  the  disease  would  leave 
him;  he  went  in  faith;  the  paroxism  did  not 
come  at  the  usual  time,  and  it  returned  no  more." 
"  The  dust  from  St,  Chad's  coffin  was  an  ap- 
proved remedy  for  man  and  beast.  Sick  persons 
were  healed  by  being  placed  in  the  horse  litter 


MIRACLES.  255 

wherein  Sir  Erkcmval  used  to  be  carried;  but  if 
they  were  too  far  away  to  be  taken  to  it,  a  piece 
cut  from  the  litter  was  taken  to  them,  and  the 
effect  was  the  same."  l 

"  St.  Fursey  was  conducted  by  the  angels  who 
in  one  of  his  flights,  commanded  him  to  look 
down  upon  the  earth.  He  discovered  in  the  air 
four  fires  at  a  little  distance  from  each  other,  these 
were  kindled  for  the  punishment  of  the  wicked 
and  finally  for  the  destruction  of  the  world.  The 
first  was  the  fire  of  lying,  where  men  are  punish- 
ed who  break  their  baptismal  vow;  the  second, 
that  of  covetousness  ;  the  third,  that  of  dissen- 
sion ;  the  fourth,  that  of  iniquity,  especially  the 
sin  of  defrauding  others.  Fursey  was  much  alarm- 
ed at  beholding  the  increase  of  these  fires,  and 
that  they  gradually  approached  him.  The  angels, 
however,  silenced  his  fears  by  informing  him  that 
they  were  only  intended  for  those  who  had  kind- 
led them  by  the  sins  above  mentioned.  Accord- 
ingly, when  it  reached  them,  one  of  the  angels 
went  before  him  and  divided  the  flames ;  the  two 
others,  one  on  each  side,  warded  them  off  to  the 
right  and  left,  and  he  past  through  unhurt,  seeing 

lSouihey  Vindicae  Ecclesiae  Anglican©,  p.  133,  who 
quotes  from  Bede's  History,  lib.  iii.  cap.  4. 


256  MIRACLES. 

on  the  way  many  devils  flying  about,  some  of 
whom  pursued  him  with  accusations.  From 
thence  he  passed  into  the  regions  of  bliss  and 
found  many  of  his  friends  there.  On  his  way 
back,  he  was  obliged  to  go  again  through  the  fire, 
and  as  he  was  passing  again  through  the  flames, 
the  devils  snatched  up  a  soul  which  they  were 
tormenting  and  flung  it  at  him.  This  unhappy 
sold  was  so  burning  hot  that  it  scorched  his 
shoulder  and  his  cheek  where  it  touched  him"  ' 
That  is  a  little  too  tough  to  digest. 

"  Touama,  who  fell  in  a  battle,  fought  near 
Trent,  and  though  left  as  dead,  he  revived,  and 
was  taken  prisoner,  whose  chains  fell  off  every 
night  to  the  great  surprise  of  all.  The  cause  of 
which  was,  that  his  brother,  an  abbot  of  Tunna- 
caster,  supposing  that  he  was  dead,  had  said 
masses  for  his  soul !  Touama  suspected  the  rea- 
son, and  explained  the  matter  in  this  way.  "  When 
however,  it  was  ascertained  that  the  chains  fell 
off  just  at  the  time  that  the  masses  were  said  for 
his  soul ;  it  had  a  marvellous  effect  in  inducing 
many  to  bespeak  masses  for  their  deceased 
friends."  2 

'Bede,  lib.  3,  c.  19. 
2Bede,  lib.  4,  c.  122. 


MIRACLES.  257 

I  forbear  any  comment  except  a  question  which 
Southey  thus  puts  to  Mr.  Butler :  "  Would  you 
desire,  Sir,  a  prettier  sample  of  priestcraft  and 
importance  than  this  scheme  for  bringing  custom 
to  the  mass-mongers  at  Tunnacaster?"  l  Such 
are  a  few  specimens  of  the  miracles  related  by 
Bede.  Trusting  that  they  have  suiliciently  edi- 
fied my  Roman  Catholic  brethren,  but  should  that 
not  be  the  case,  I  will  earnestly  recommend  them 
"  the  Golden  Legend"  of  Jacobius  de  Voragine ; 
those  related  in  the  "Speculum"  of  Vincentius 
Belluacensis  ;  and  those  related  in  the  "  Saints' 
Lives"  of  the  patrician  Metaphiastes ;  those  re- 
lated by  Surius  and  Monbritius,  where  they  will 
find  the  most  absurd  and  ridiculous  stories,  which 
will  afford  them  much  pleasure,  and  great  edifi- 
cation. 

Having  thus  edified  the  Roman  Catholics,  I 
will  also  amuse  my  Protestant  readers,  by  rela- 
ting some  miracles.  St.  Genajo,  is  the  protector 
of  Naples  in  Italy,  his  blood  is  preserved  in  a 
small  bottle  at  the  altar  of  the  church  of  the  same 
name.  It  is  believed  by  every  Neapolitan,  and 
well  known  by  every  traveler,  that  the  liquifac- 

'Southey  Vindica?  Ecclosiae  Angl.  p.  211. 


258  MIRACLES. 

lion  of  that  blood  is  an  indication  of  grace  and 
mercy  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  city,  as  well  as  to 
private  individuals,  who  approach  in  faith  to  the 
saint     At  the  time  when  Napoleon  invaded  Italy, 
suppressing  the  convents  and  nunneries,  carrying 
the  priests  and  their  riches  to  France,  the  few 
who  remained,  were   as  a  matter  of  course,  not 
very  loyal  to  the  emperor,  they  agitated  in  secret, 
whispered  in  the  confessionals,  into  the  ears  of 
the  Lazzaronies,  that  "  St.  Genajo  is  displeased 
with  the  conduct  of  the  invaders,  that  his  blood 
did  not  boil  during  the  whole  time  the   ungodly 
French    soldiers    occupied  the   kingdom  of  Na- 
ples."    The  reader  can  imagine  the  fermentation 
of  the  populace,  the  acrimony  of  the  devotees, 
the  fears  of  the  peaceful  citizens,  and  satisfaction 
of  the  priests.     The  complot  was  organized,  and 
the  time  of  a  second  Sicilian  vesper  was  appoint- 
ed, at  the  procession  with  the  blood  of  St.  Gen- 
ajo, [when  all  the  populace,  and  Lazzaronies  are 
gathered,]  then  the  signal  of  the  slaughter  should 
be  given.     The  day  arrived;  the  high  mass  was 
celebrated,  the  blood  of  Genajo   exposed  to  the 
adoration  of  the  people;  but  it  would  not  boil, 
not  even  liquify.     The  spies  of  the  French,  im- 
mediately informed  the  commander  of  the  troop, 


MIRACLES.  259 

of  the  imminent  danger,  who  without  delay  gave 
orders  that  the  whole  armory  should  occupy  the 
principal  streets  of  the  city ;  two  cannons  were 
planted  before  the  door  of  the  church  of  St.  Gen- 
ajo,  and  at  the  different  corners  of  the  streets  with 
lighted  matches,  and  a  special  order  to  the  Vicar 
of  the  bishops,  who  celebrated  the  mass:  "  That 
if  in  ten  minutes  St.  Genajo  should  not  per- 
form his  usual  miracle,  the  whole  city  ivould 
be  reduced  to  ruins ;"  and  in  five  minutes  the 
saint  was  pacified,  his  blood  liquified  and  boiled. 
The  "  gloria  in  excelsis"  was  sung,  the  shouts  of 
joy  re-echoed  in  the  air,  and  the  French  rejoiced 
with  them,  but  not  the  disappointed  priests. 

The  house  of  Loretto  is  one  of  the  richest  es- 
tablishments of  the  pope,  and  the  surest  source 
to  get  money.  As  soon  as  the  French  troops  oc- 
cupied the  papal  dominions,  Napoleon  ordered, 
"that  the  silver  statues  representing  the  apostles, 
should  be  taken  from  that  house  and  melted,  and 
coined  with  his  bust  on  it,  in  order  that  they 
might  be  faithful  to  the  command  of  their  Master, 
who  ordered  them,  "to  go  into  all  the  world," 
but  not  to  remain  inactive  in  the  house  of  Loretto, 
and  court  the  lady.  His  messengers  came  to  the 
house,  but  the  twelve  apostles  were  already  gone 


260  MIRACLES. 

when  Napoleon  was  informed  that  the  silver  apos- 
tles undertook  the  voyage  before  his  messengers 
arrived.  He  said  :  "  never  mind  the  apostles,  I 
have  the  Vicar  of  Christ  and  he  shall  not  escape," 
and  carried  the  pope  Pius  VII.  to  France. 

"  St.  Anthony,  the  Stylite  of  Egypt,  who  lived 
upwards  of  thirty  years  on  the  top  of  a  pillar, 
was  considered  to  have  attained  the  highest  degree 
of  holiness."  * 

"  A  man  who  returned  from  the  fiery  regions 
saw  the  miserable  wretches  there  unable  to  endure 
the  heat  on  the  right  hand,  throwing  themselves 
into  the  equal  torment  of  cold  on  the  other."  2 

"  St.  Dominick,  (the  author  and  finisher  of  the 
Holy  Inquisition,)  was  such  a  holy  man,  that  he 
made  the  fiend  in  the  shape  of  a  monkey,  hold  a 
candle  for  him  till  he  burnt  his  fingers." 

"  At  another  time  St.  Dominick  fastened  the 
devil,  in  the  shape  of  a  flea,  to  a  book,  which  he 
was  reading  and  only  allowed  him  to  skip  from 
one  page  to  another  as  the  saint  turned  over  the 
leaves." 

"  St.  Dennis  and  St.  Alban  carried  their  heads 
in  their  hands  after  they  were  beheaded."  3 

'Omicron's  third  letter,  p.  58. 

2See  Release  from  Purgatory,  p.  309. 

3Omicron's  third  letter,  p.  G4. 


MIRACLES.  i26l 

"  St.  Anthony  of  Padua,  preached  on  the  same 
day  and  hour  in  Padua,  in  Italy ;  in  Madrid,  the 
capital  of  Spain;  in  Lisbon,  the  capital  of  Portu- 
gal and  in  Rome."  The  apostles  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost  preached  in  their  own  language,  and 
Were  undei stood  by  all  the  nations  at  Jerusalem, 
or  as  some  say,  they  preached  in  the  different 
languages  of  the  people  who  were  at  Jerusalem 
St.  Anthony  of  Padua,  spoke  not  only  Italian , 
Spanish  and  Portuguese  at  the  same  time,  but 
was  also  omnipresent  in  the  different  parts  of 
Europe. 

If  I  would  continue  to  relate  the  absurd  mira- 
cles which  are  authenticated  by  the  church  of 
Rome,  and  believed  by  the  papists  as  facts,  I 
could  write  a  volume  in  folio ;  but  as  this  would 
be  a  useless  expence  for  myself,  and  of  no  profit 
for  my  readers,  I  will  make  an  appeal  to  the  Ro- 
man Catholics  as  well  as  to  Protestants  The 
first  I  intreat  not  to  trifle  with  their  soul's  salva- 
tion, but  to  inquire  into  the  truth,  to  read  the  bible 
for  in  that  only  they  will  find  the  hidden  treasure, 
the  pearl  of  great  price,  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus, 
And  if  I  have  said  any  thing  which  might  have 
wounded  their  feelings,  I  can  assure  them,  that  it 
was   not  my  intention  to  attack  any  person  or 


262  MIRACLES. 

wound  any  man's  feelings,  but  enlighten  those 
who  know  little  of  the  intrigues  of  the  church  of 
Rome*  and  lead  them  to  the  pure  fountain  of  life 
Jesus  Christ  And  the  Protestants  1  beseech  to 
pray  without  ceasing  for  the  conversion  of  the 
church  of  Rome.  May  God  grant  it  in  his  ten- 
der mercies. 

THE    END* 


>•    Itf 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 


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